


Ichariba Chode

by akatsuki_tsukiyomi (Yumi25Nakashima)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Romance, Coming of Age, Developing Friendships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, Slice of Life, Slow Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:33:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28520949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yumi25Nakashima/pseuds/akatsuki_tsukiyomi
Summary: A Naruto Shippuden High School AUIchariba Chode - "Though we meet but once, even by chance, we are friends for life."---High school ― the place where life lessons are taught more efficiently than actual education. It's always going to be a bumpy road, but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. You only have to find the right kind of people to be with to be able to live in the moment. The right kind of friends, and you'll survive through this roller coaster ride. Open new doors, close others, keep others open, and others closed. A lot of 'hellos' doesn't always equate to a lot of 'goodbyes'. The moment passes, but the memories stay.A modern-set alternative universe where Konoha 11 (and Sasuke) are living their teenage lives as peacefully as one can whilst in high school. Friendship and bonds are as unavoidable as breathing, but so is romance. As they embark on their own journeys, they come to realize that they inevitably rely on one another to keep themselves upright and to keep moving forward; they inevitably move together as one and face tomorrow with renewed and newly-found strength.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Nara Shikamaru/Yamanaka Ino, Sai/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> In case it gets confusing, these scenes are basically snippets and they don't always follow a set time skip. We're basically jumping from one scenario to the next, so things might feel a little cut-off at times. I swear, it'll be more cohesive as the story goes on (I hope HAHAHA).

**At First, We Were Friends...**

Another year of high school. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and love may be blooming.

As they make their way to discover the wonders of growing up, they inevitably stumble upon something inescapable. Friendship, trust, and love.

Some bonds grow ever stronger, while others wither away into nothing but memories of the past. New friendships and renewed friendships await.


	2. Introduction (version 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the semester from Kiba's point of view.

**Kiba’s point of view**

I whistled a tune in time with the birds as I made my way to school. For the first time, I actually _wanted_ to go. Because of a reason unbeknownst to me, my spring break had been utterly uneventful. It passed by in a blur, and I barely have anything to brag about. I could feel my heart start to pound in anticipation as I spotted the small park in the distance. A few feet more, and I could already see the top of the tall buildings of _Konoha Gakuen_.

Here we go, another year of studying.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I felt my nose twitch. “Ack— _Ah choo_!”

I rubbed my nose in irritation and walked over to the guy who had caused my embarrassing sneeze. I slung an arm over Naruto’s shoulder, “Oi.”

“Hey Kiba,” he said before mumbling something to himself. All I caught was ‘ramen’ but that wasn’t anything new, nor was it any of my business. I placed my palm on the back of his head and gave a light push, effectively shoving him away from me. “Could you not bathe in your cologne? I swear, I can barely stand next to you here,” I state as I rub my itching nose more. He only let out a laugh at my demand and completely ignored it.

Ah, really, this guy just doesn’t know how to be normal. But he’s pretty handy when I need him around; like that time we sneaked Akamaru into the campus during the school festival. Man, that was a blast.

After remembering the good times, I noticed that Naruto was talking. Wait, had he been telling me something this whole time? I tried to tune in and subtly figure out what he was saying, but his story was all over the place, and not to mention that he tends to exaggerate facts. Old ladies? Spike? What? What is this guy going on about?

I guess my confusion and bafflement showed in my face because the next thing I knew, he was already scolding me for not paying attention to his tales. I tried to calm him down and looked for a way out. I searched the sea of students that have appeared as we neared the gates of the Academy. I need a distraction to get this guy off my case. Anyone, anyone, anyone at all, _pleas—_

“ _Uwoh_ , Sakura-chan,” Naruto called out. Yes, thank _Kami_. He finally turned away from me with a quick, ‘See ya’ and jogged over to her. I let out a sigh of relief, glad to be away from his scolding and his overwhelming scent. I felt my nose twitch again as I recalled his overpowering cologne, but I suppressed the sneeze that threatened to leave me.

I looked over my shoulder, trying to search for any familiar faces. Is it just me or do some of these guys look _exactly_ the same? I shook my head at that thought when I saw Shino. Aha, someone I know! Shino and I are childhood friends, and he helps me out a lot. Especially when Akamaru starts getting weird; he helps me find out what’s causing his sickness; although sometimes I feel like Shino’s just making my pal his guinea pig. But other than trying to experiment on Akamaru without me looking, Shino’s a good guy. He doesn’t talk all that much, but he’s good. Besides, I do most of the talking in our group anyway.

Now, to find the princess…

I scanned the faces of the people behind me but couldn’t find her. Hmm, she must be early, although that’s no surprise, Hinata’s _always_ punctual. I finally spotted her familiar purple hair in the midst of the crowd and called out to her and Shino. She immediately came over, but Shino took his time.

I flashed her a grin as she greeted me. “Hey, Hime. How’s Naruto looking today?”

She let out a squeak of embarrassment and looked at me with horrified eyes. “Yes, I saw you staring at him. _Again_ ,” I teased and she blushed madly, turning away from me.

“K-Kiba-kun, stop that,” she mumbled out, crossing her arms to appear more firm, but her voice was shaking and it only made me laugh. She really has to work on her ‘mean’ face.

“She’s right, you know. It’s barely the start of the semester and you’re already intent on embarrassing the both of us. Why you ask? Because you’re making a scene,” Shino added as he finally emerged from the sea of students behind us. I only shrugged at him, keeping my grin. “I can’t help it, man. Hinata makes the cutest reactions.”

Without having to take off his glasses, I can practically see Shino roll his eyes at me. He walked a little closer and I gave him a weird look, keeping my distance from Hinata as I subtly pushed him away. I need my space.

“You seem to be in a chipper mood whenever she’s around,” he muttered to me. I’m confused for a moment before I laughed. “Well, why wouldn’t I be? I’ve known her for as long as I’ve known you. But of course, I’m more high-spirited when she’s around. Why you ask?” I mocked, giving him a side glance.

“Because she’s cute, and you’re not. And besides, I don’t even get how I can be in a ‘chipper’ mood when it comes to her, I’m _always_ chipper. _You’re_ the chipper one here. Why you ask?” he furrowed his brows and I can only assume that he’s glaring at me for the taunting. “Because you talk a lot more when we’re with her.”

He seemed unsatisfied and passively sulked at my answer. _Hah_ , didn’t know I could tease you too, did you? He mumbled incoherent words of agreement and I smirked at my victory. Inuzuka 1, Aburame 0.

I quickened my pace to catch up to Hinata and continued our conversation (if I can even call it that) while Shino followed and added a few remarks of his own here and there.

Well, this semester might not be so bad if I’m with these two.


	3. Introduction (version 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the semester from Tenten's point of view.

**Tenten’s point of view**

Ah, finally senior year’s come! I grinned to myself as I walked to school, a light bounce in my step. I’m not sure just what I’m looking forward to, but it’s almost as if my gut is telling me that it’s going to be a great year. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to place my bet on my gut feeling. Up till now, it hasn’t failed me all that much to not trust my instincts.

I saw two other students walking in front of me, and judging by their long flowing hair, brown and purple respectively, I didn’t have to second guess before I jogged up to the duo.

“Hinata-chan, Neji, _ohayo_ ,” I greeted brightly as I fell in step next to the older of the two. Both of them greeted me back in unison. As polite as ever.

We walked in silence before I finally got bored of it and started to talk to Hinata. She’d give short, but enthusiastic replies, so I knew she was listening. I stole a glance at Neji. Nothing’s changed with him. Well, maybe he got a little taller. Same pale eyes, same brown hair, and same stoic expression.

“So, Neji, guess what happened to me during the break?” I started, engaging him in a conversation.

“Do I really need to know?” he deadpanned, not even sparing me a glance as he kept his gaze forward. “Of course! Now, don’t be a sourpuss and hear me out!”

I went on to explain the events that took place during the spring vacation. There was not a lot, but I did get to find rare collectibles for my weaponry collection. My dad taught me self-defense as a child, but I prefer using something to fight with than engage in hand-to-hand combat. Besides, it’s not likely that I’ll ever even get to use my weapons or my skills because what in the world would happen to an average schoolgirl like me?

“And so I bought them. They were the last ones in stock too, how lucky, right?” I told Neji, feeling proud at having had my hands on those precious collectibles.

“But I _did_ have to spend the last of my allowance on them, so for the rest of the break, I was broke,” I mumbled in defeat, closing my eyes and falling silent, wishing the memory of my money to rest in peace.

“That’s what you get for impulsively buying everything you lay your eyes on.” Neji’s remark sent me crash landing back to reality. Why, in my right mind, did I even bother talking to this guy? “Are you even sure that ‘rare collectible’ was as rare as the owner claimed it to be? For all we know, you could’ve been scammed and now he’s off with your money for your foolishness.”

I glared at him and whined out, “You’re being too cruel!”

I cast a glance over him and to his cousin. “Ne, Hinata-chan, tell this guy off! He’s hurting my feelings again, and I already lost my money! I’m the victim here, me! And that _was_ a rare collectible!”

Neji’s perfect brow rose at my statement. Hinata, on the other hand, had been busy staring off into the distance when I called for her and was startled. Her frantic eyes looked at me, bewildered and confused before they darted to Neji for an explanation. She looked back at me when he didn’t say anything and ultimately started shifting her gaze between the both of us.

“Don’t bring her into this useless conversation—” before Neji could finish scolding me and shutting down my request, someone – Kiba, judging from his voice and the nickname, Hime, he used – called out to the perturbed girl. For a split second, I could see the relief wash over her features as she was set free from our little chat before it vanished as she gave a bow towards us, excused herself, and scurried away to join her friend.

I watched her go and pouted to myself. Great, the only one who could shut Neji’s smug mouth was gone. I let out a sound between a whine a groan as Hinata left. “Don’t do that.”

I looked at Neji, “What?” I asked. “Don’t do what?”

“That sound you made. It was inappropriately sensual.” I felt the blood rush to my face as I covered my mouth with my hand and sent a slap on his arm with my other. “No, it wasn’t!”

His eye twitched when I had hit him but he simply brushed off my outburst and continued walking. “As you say.”

“Neji! Tenten! _Ohayo_!” an energetic voice boomed from behind us. I heard the sound of rapid steps, closing the distance between us and the surprised shrieks of random students as Lee hurdled his way through them. “I have arrived!’’

Neji looked away, closing his eyes and said condescendingly, “you could have greeted us normally, and without having to run into other people.”

I stared blankly at the duo as they started bickering; Neji with his uncensored mouth and Lee with his endless optimism. For some reason, the pair reminded me of a passive-aggressive version of two juniors I’ve been acquainted with. I shook my head at them. They were practically Naruto and Sasuke.

I grabbed Lee by the collar of his shirt and Neji by the strap of his bag and pulled them away from each other. “ _Ara, ara_. That’s enough of that, you two. It’s only the first day and you’re already all over each other. Did you miss each other’s company that much?”

“I most definitely did not miss you, Neji!” Lee exclaimed, offended as he shrugged my hand off his collar, crossed his arms over his chest, and turned away with a childish and stubborn, “Hmph!”

“I feel the same way,” Neji stated, looking at Lee who was busy shaking his head and pretending to be mad. I let go of the brunette’s bag strap and instead walked ahead.

“You guys make up. I’m going ahead.”

“Tenten—” “I will do _no_ such thing! Wait for me!”


	4. Introduction (version 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the semester from Shikamaru's point of view.

**Shikamaru’s point of view**

That one definitely looks like a sheep. I’ve never believed children when they said clouds looked like sheep nor have I ever seen a cloud shaped like a sheep before, but this breaks that record. It’s definitely a sheep.

I kept my eyes trained to the sky as I walked. I craned my neck back slightly to stare at the oddly shaped cloud some more before I gave up. I continued walking, this time keeping my gaze in front of me. I tried to stifle a yawn but it persisted so I let out a drawled-out inhale and stretched my arms.

I gave a side glance to my right and watched as Sai, a transfer student last year, walked beside me. I don’t know much about him, but if he’ll keep to himself then so will I. It’s not like I want trouble knocking on my front door. Which is why I do my best to stay away from Naruto.

I looked away from Sai and looked around me instead. We’re actually walking in the same pace. Well it’s not like I walked to school with the guy, but I really can’t be bothered to walk any faster or slower right now. This is such a drag.

I let out another yawn. Why does school have to start again so soon?

A shrill voice interrupted my complaints and I looked ahead. I knew that voice. I craned my head to the left and then to the right as I tried looking over people’s shoulders to find the owner of that all-too-familiar voice. I knew quite a bunch of people who are loud and boisterous, but I could tell who was who. And this one, was definitely Ino. I finally managed to catch her blonde hair in my sights and I shifted to the left to see her better.

A few ways away, she was standing next to Sakura, who was standing next to Naruto, and was animatedly speaking; most likely trying to prove a point to the blockhead. I couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at my lips as I watched her continue her attempts at making him understand. Didn’t she know that no matter how precise or exact her explanations would be, Naruto would still refuse to acknowledge her opinion? The war had already been won before she had even unsheathed her weapon.

She apparently finally gave up as I saw her curse at him before she sauntered away to Choji who was walking with a senior. I can’t hear their conversation from where I am, but knowing Ino, she’s probably talking about how her vacation went. And because I know her so well, I might even get to hear the same story later on when she sees me. I wonder where she flew off to this time.

Ah, where are my manners? I glanced to my side to look at my walking-buddy, Sai, and finally acknowledge his presence but he wasn’t there. An empty space was left where he had been. He probably wandered off when I was not looking. Oh well, goodbye friendship. At least now Ino and Choji can’t say I didn’t try. I gave an indifferent shrug and continued making my way to school, thinking about sheep-shaped clouds.


	5. Introduction (version 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the semester from Naruto's point of view.

**Naruto’s point of view**

I crouched in front of the park, a sandwich stuck between my teeth, as I tried to catch my breath. I slept through my alarm _again_. I managed to dash out the house, grabbing a sandwich off the table, and made it to the park with time to spare. That’s actually a record.

I bit into my half-eaten sandwich and looked down to button up the rest of my shirt and fix my necktie. Sakura will choke me to death if she sees me looking sloppy again.

I had just finished my sandwich and was just about to turn a corner when the bell of a bike rang loud and close and Konohamaru zoomed past me. “Oi! Be careful when riding that thing! And don’t go so fast especially when you’re turning corners-ttebayo!”

Konohamaru only flashed me a grin as he looked back, not slowing down, and yelled, “That’s why I rang the bell when I turned!”

“ _Baka_ , that’s not what I meant!” He was already too far to hear me. That kid will get in trouble one way or another. I’d better discipline him if he’s aspiring to be as great as me one day.

I turned the corner and continued walking to school. By the looks of it, I’m not running late anymore (thanks to that dash).

A heavy arm was slung over my shoulder, making me stumble, “Oi.”

“Hey Kiba,” I greeted him. I felt my stomach growl.

“Maybe I should’ve eaten more than a sandwich for breakfast. There’s probably some instant ramen left in the cupboard…” I mumbled to myself.

I felt Kiba move before I was shoved off him lightly. “Could you not bathe in your cologne? I swear, I can barely stand next to you over here,” he stated, and to emphasize, he rubbed his nose. I just let out a laugh. I don’t _bathe_ in my cologne. It’s probably just Kiba’s nose. He’s pretty sensitive to smell anyway.

“It’s just your nose. Anyway, guess what happened yesterday-ttebayo? I was playing volleyball with the older ladies in the public gym and then I saw Ino pass by. I called her inside and even complimented her clothes but maybe I said something she didn’t like because then she challenged me to play a set against her, and she told me that she’d totally kick my butt!” I shrugged as I remembered her wearing the spare uniform that one of the ladies gave her. She had it styled to her liking and it took her almost half an hour to get completely ‘dressed’ before she let the game start.

“So we went on to play a set, but before we knew it the sun was setting! I had just delivered an awesome spike that Ino didn’t catch when one _Oba-chan_ from my team said that they all had to go home to cook for their families and all that, so we had to call it a day. And we never got to finish that one set, too! Can you believe it-ttebayo? It was so close, 28 to 29, they were only one point ahead of us!” I exclaimed in frustration as I pulled at my hair. That game has been haunting me since last night. Only three more points and we would’ve already won!

I looked at Kiba who was not giving me much of a reaction. He was looking at me, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. In conclusion, he wasn’t listening and was just blankly staring at me. How far in our conversation had he missed?

“Oi! Kiba, you aren’t even listening! I was telling a great story-dattebayo! Why didn’t you pay more attention?” he tried to calm me down but I was having none of that. He should’ve paid more attention to me if he wanted me to listen to him. I turned away and crossed my arms.

“ _Uwoh_ , Sakura-chan,” I called out as I saw her. I’ll let Kiba off this once. Sakura needs to hear my story, too! I waved to Kiba as I jogged off with a quick, “See ya.”

As I reached Sakura, I noticed that she’s walking with someone else. _Ino_. We locked eyes and I could practically see the sparks fly as we initiated an intense staredown.

“Hey, Naruto. When are we going to finish that game? I don’t like leaving things without closure, so I want to know so I can continue kicking your butt,” Ino started, a sly smirk tugging at her lips.

“Hah? I’ll have you know that you were kicking no one’s butt! In fact, the oba-chan on my team and I were totally giving you guys a run for your money!” I countered. At that, Ino gave a scoff and narrowed her eyes at me.

“Had it not been for a couple of missed serves, your team would never have had caught up to us and we would’ve won that set in record time.” Ino boasted. I grumbled and muttered under my breath, “They missed their serves because _you_ suck at motivating your team.”

“What was that?” she almost screeched at me. I stuck out my tuck. “You didn’t motivate your team enough, that’s why you let us get the points. _Blehhh_!”

She gaped at me and flipped her hair. “Whatever,” she stated as she sauntered away. Just as I started snickering, I felt a hard blow on the back of my head. “Ah! _Ittai,_ Sakura-chan!” I whined out, rubbing the sore spot she had hit. “What was that even fo—”

“Don’t play innocent with me, _baka_!” she scolded. “It’s only the start of the school year and you’re already on Ino’s bad side. You’d better apologize sooner or later. She can and _will_ hold grudges.”

At her warning, I felt a chill run down my spine. Ino is almost as scary as Sakura when she’s mad. Maybe pissing her off wasn’t the best idea.

I grumbled and nodded my head, “Alright, alright. I’ll apologize.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it gets confusing, these scenes are basically snippets and they don't always follow a set time skip. We're basically jumping from one scenario to the next, so things might feel a little cut-off at times. I swear, it'll be more cohesive as the story goes on (I hope HAHAHA).

Ino traced her finger down the sheet of paper that was tacked onto one of the many bulletin boards.

“Yamanaka, Yamanaka, Yamanaka,” she kept mumbling to herself as if reciting a mantra, as she searched for her name.

“Aha!” she exclaimed as she saw her surname. She scanned the sheet once more, trying to look for other familiar names of students that would be in her class.

“Sakura’s here! And Sasuke-kun, too, _lucky_ ,” she mused, already imagining the fun she’d have with teasing her best friend as she flirted with the Uchiha. She once had a crush on him, but that was in middle school, and she had gotten over his charms. Or at least, she’d gotten over trying to catch his eye. He was undeniably charismatic and could make women swoon with just one glance from those cold eyes. Sakura, on the other hand, had yet to break free from her bonds of being cast under his spell.

“Mm, Class A, huh,” she heard a familiar drawl from behind her. She craned her head to look, and sure enough, it was her pineapple-haired childhood friend, peering past her shoulder to see his name under the same class. “Hey, Shikamaru we’re in the same class!”

Ino stepped away from the board and untangled herself from the mess of limbs and hair of students as they crowded around the class sheets and towards the said male. “Where’s Choji?”

“Ino, Shikamaru!”

“Speak of the devil,” Shikamaru muttered as he glanced at Choji who was making his way towards them. “Hey, where’d you get placed?”

“Class B,” he replied before devouring a handful of chips. Shikamaru wearily eyed Choji’s bag of junk food and let out a long sigh. Ino pouted as she crossed her arms and whined. “We won’t be together this year?”

Shikamaru zoned out once Ino and Choji started rambling on about all the ‘fun’ they’d miss with having to be in separate classes but snapped out of his equally useless train of thought when he felt Ino tug at his wrist.

“Come on, let’s get to class! I heard that Kakashi-sensei’s going to be our homeroom teacher!” she squealed excitedly as she dragged her friend behind her. He gave a short wave to Choji before he was unceremoniously hauled from his spot by his blonde friend.

“Slow down, woman. What are you hurrying for, you know that Kakashi-sensei’s always late,” he mumbled behind her as he tried to avoid hitting anyone by accident. He let out an exasperated sigh once they reached their classroom and shook Ino’s grip off his hand. She didn’t seem to notice when he left her side, opting to be seated at the back of the class by the windows as she was already busy talking to Sakura whom she had only parted with mere minutes ago.

Shikamaru set down his bag on his desk and rested his head on it, making it a make-shift pillow. Before long, he was dozing off, lulled to sleep by the chatter of students around him and the distinct sound of Ino’s voice.

**\---**

Kiba stepped into the classroom with Hinata and Shino trailing behind him. “Apparently Kurenai-sensei’s our homeroom teacher this year,” he informed his friends as he picked a random seat for himself. Shino made no sound of acknowledgement, or even any sign of having listened to what he said, as the quiet male took his seat beside the Inuzuka.

“Kurenai-sensei?” Hinata wondered aloud, her eyes shining with admiration. She had always considered Kurenai to be a role model for her, as the older woman left those in her presence so comfortable. Hinata could only dream of being able to communicate with people in a way that wouldn’t bore them or make them uncomfortable — something she was having a hard time doing.

Out of habit, Kiba pulled Hinata’s seat back for her as she opted to sit in the desk in front of him. She mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’ as she made herself comfortable. As she started fixing her things, Kiba found himself blushing ever so slightly as he realized his prior actions. He was never the type to be so openly caring, and it surprised even him. He was not the epitome of a ‘gentleman,’ and he knew that. He only ever tried acting so when he wanted to tease Hinata; calling her ‘princess,’ pulling a chair back for her, holding his arm out for her to hold; and he never knew that all those times spent on poking fun at her overly-polite nature would make him used to doing such actions.

He shook those thoughts off his head as the said girl turned in her seat to face him. “Kiba-kun, did you hear about the new pet store?”

“Hmm? Pet store? Oh, the one that opened last month?” Hinata nodded to answer his question and pulled out a pamphlet from her bag. She handed it to him and pointed at one of the many advertised products. “They’re selling these limited edition flavoured treats. Wouldn’t Akamaru like them?”

He took the pamphlet from her hands and scanned it, his eyebrows raising. “Oh, these are pretty good. Maybe I’ll stop by this weekend to check them out,” he mumbled. Hinata smiled at his approval and turned back to face the front of the class.

“Oh man, I can’t believe I’m not in the same class as Sakura-chan and Sasuke-ttebayo,” a certain blond groaned in defeat as he dragged his feet into the classroom. He looked around, searching for empty seats and found one beside Kiba, who was still reading over the pet store’s advertising flyer.

“Hey Kiba,” he greeted as he sat on his chair with a huff. Sharp black eyes looked over at him and Kiba nodded in acknowledgement. “Hey.”

Naruto crossed his arms, leaning back on his chair, and closed his eyes as he continued pouting over the fact that he wasn’t in the same class with his crush and rival. The dark-haired Hyuga had yet to notice Naruto sitting only a few ways from her when she turned in her seat again to face Kiba. “Did you find anything you lik—”

“Yeah, I think there are a lot that…” Kiba trailed off as he tore his eyes from the paper and to Hinata’s petrified lavender orbs. “Hina?” He followed her gaze and twitched in annoyance as his eyes landed on Naruto. Was he _trying_ to give Hinata a heart attack with sitting that close? And what’s with that stupid look on his face, was he actually trying to think?

Kiba couldn’t contain the snickers that left his lips when he saw Naruto’s troubled expression, making the blond open his eyes and look at him.

“Oi, oi, Kiba, what’re you laughing at?” he asked, his brows coming together in confusion. At the sound of his voice, all hell broke loose and the snickers Kiba was trying to suppress escaped his mouth and erupted in howls of laughter. “Y-You should’ve seen your face! Oh god, what were you even thinking about?”

As Kiba wheezed with lack of air, still laughing and almost falling off his chair as he slapped his knee, Naruto’s face turned red in embarrassment and fury. “Don’t laugh at me, moron! I-I wasn’t thinking about anything!”

“That makes it worse!” The brunette cackled, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. Sensing that a brawl was about to begin, Hinata swallowed down her nerves and waved her hands in front of her, trying to catch the males’ attention.

“H-Hey now, I think you should both calm down! Kiba-kun, don’t be l-like that. _Ano_ , Naruto-kun, please don’t take him seriously!” she bowed her head to the blond, blushing furiously at having talked to him and held her breath. Kiba’s laughter soon died down to soft chuckles as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Naruto looked between Kiba and Hinata before he backed down, seating himself back from standing when he had yelled at Kiba and sheepishly rubbed his name.

“Yeah, sorry about that…”

“Hinata.” Naruto and the said girl looked over at Kiba when he spoke.

“What?” the confused blond asked. “Her name’s Hinata,” Kiba replied sharply as though he was ready to try and start another petty fight.

“I-I know that!” Naruto defended, crossing his arms and frowning. “She’s Sakura-chan’s friend, Hyuga Hinata, and Neji-senpai’s cousin! I know her name so you don’t have to worry! Sheesh, what are you, her brother?”

“I’m just making sure,” Kiba shrugged, dismissing his defensive attitude and going back to reading over the pamphlet in his hands. Hinata in turn faced the other way, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. He said her name. He _knew_ her name. He knew _her_. She couldn’t stop the butterflies that stirred up a storm in the pit of her stomach and held her midsection in an attempt to calm down her giddy nerves.

She shouldn’t be too happy about this. She shouldn’t be. But she was.

**\---**

“Here’s Class A,” Tenten said as she looked inside the said room from the open doorway. Neji nodded beside her.

“Farewell, Neji. We may be apart but—” Lee started, tears already streaming down his face.

“I don’t intend to rain on your parade, but if you start a speech, I’ll walk inside and forget that I know you,” came Neji’s deadpanned interruption. Lee immediately zipped his mouth, used to his friend’s sharp tongue and saluted dramatically. At that, the Hyuga let out a sigh. Tenten chuckled awkwardly at their interaction before she dismissed Lee and faced Neji.

“You’d better still talk to us. We’re just in the next class over, so if you start ignoring us, I’ll kick your butt!” Neji chuckled and nodded. “Hai. Now go.”

“Oh wait,” Tenten said, catching his wrist before he disappeared into his classroom. “Do you know who your homeroom teacher’s going to be?”

Neji shook his head.

“Oh. Well I guess you’d find our later. I thought you’d know though, didn’t you check the list earlier? Class B’s homeroom teacher is Gai-sensei apparently… I hope I survive.”

“Gai-sensei?” Lee exclaimed from behind her. “Tenten, did you say Gai-sensei will be our teacher? Yes! This is what youth is all about!”

“Wai— Lee, don’t run in the hall! Hey! Wait for me!” Tenten faced Neji with an apologetic expression before she jogged off, waving to him. “See you later! Lee, wait up!”

**\----**

“And _that’s_ the real story! Don’t believe what Naruto says, he over-exaggerates _everything_!” Ino haughtily warned Sakura.

“Don’t you both over-exaggerate, though?” Sakura teased, earning a glare from her blonde friend. “Alright, alright, I’ll believe you!”

“You’d better,” Ino retorted, flipping her hair from her shoulder. “I know my skills, and I know I can play a game against him and win. Right, Shikamaru— What? Wait, where’d he go?” Her cyan eyes scanned the room before they landed on a snoozing Shikamaru at the back of the class. She hadn’t noticed when he had slipped away. Did he go when she finished telling Sakura about her vacation, or was he already gone before that? As her eyes lingered on her friend, she noticed someone else walk inside the room and past Shikamaru’s table, catching her attention.

“Oh? He’s here, too?” Sakura looked over Ino’s shoulder to see whom she was pertaining to. “Sai? Oh, yeah. He’s pretty good actually. But don’t waste your breath on trying to talk to him. He can be so clueless sometimes that I wonder what he’s thinking when he’s not talking; which is actually most of the time since he barely talks.”

Ino’s brow raised at her best friend’s opinion on the raven-haired male. He seemed friendly enough. When Ino first saw Sai the year before, she thought he reminded her of Sasuke, but unlike the Uchiha, Sai didn’t seem standoffish. He seemed approachable but reserved. He was in Sakura’s class so they had no way of meeting, and until that moment, they were barely acquaintances.

“He seems cute, though,” Ino mumbled, almost to herself, but Sakura heard her. She gave her friend her a look. “You said the exact same thing last year when I told you who he was. He’s nothing like Sasuke-kun other than the appearance though, as I’ve already reminded you time and time again. He’s really clueless.”

Sakura almost regretted speaking when she saw the glint in Ino’s eyes.

“Oho? If he’s nothing like Sasuke-kun, I don’t have to worry about you liking him then, right? I don’t feel like having to be rivals again, _Forehead_ , it’s tiring.”

At the resurrected use of the insulting nickname, Sakura fumed. “Oh, don’t get me started Ino- _pi—”_

“Oh, Sasuke-kun!” Ino chirped, referring to the Uchiha who had just walked in. Sakura’s mouth clamped shut and she mirrored Ino’s dazzling smile with her own. “Ohayo!”

Sasuke barely acknowledged their greeting as he walked past the previously quarreling duo with a nod. Two pairs of eyes followed him as he made his way over to an empty seat and Ino and Sakura completely forgot their argument as they watched Sasuke. Ino was definitely over him, but even she couldn’t help but let out a dreamy sigh — he was practically the epitome of a girl’s prince charming.

\---

“Next, we have the String Theory, also known as the Theory of Everything,” Kabuto explained, writing down what he had said onto the chalkboard. “The man who proposed this theory was Gabriele Veneziano. According to this, all particles are actually vibrating strings and each type of vibration corresponds to a different particle.”

The classroom was dead silent apart from the sound of Kabuto’s deep voice that bounced off the four walls of the room. The only other sound was the scribbling of pen on paper as the students of Class 2-B jotted down everything that left their science teacher’s mouth. He was the type to drone on about anything and everything, but still manage to stay on topic, which meant every word he spoke had to be taken note of. Apart from Hatake Kakashi and Sarutobi Asuma’s out-of-this-world assessments, Yakushi Kabuto was one of the Big Three when it came to testing out students’ knowledge of his lessons. ‘Hard’ couldn’t even begin to describe the pop quizzes and examinations he would make. They were merciless, brutal, and unforgiving.

The only upside about his subject was that no matter how good a student is in other classes, almost everyone is equal when it came to Science. The only known survivor who managed to pass his class effortlessly and without breaking a sweat was Hyuga Neji.

Kiba could almost literally feel his ears bleeding from the information overload as Kabuto kept on speaking, intent on making full use of his hour-long class. The Inuzuka had long since abandoned the thought of writing down anything on his notebook and it lay forgotten on his desk in front of him. With other teachers, he would have already been snoozing away peacefully without a care in the world, but Kabuto’s voice just boasted so much confidence and authority that he couldn’t fall asleep to the sound of it. Instead, he sat there and tried listening as best as he could to the lesson about the origins of the universe.

How many theories had they discussed already? He had lost count and scolded himself internally as everything he heard seemed to come in one ear but out the next. Kiba discreetly peeked over Hinata’s shoulder to see how much she had jotted down.

The dark-haired girl was currently scribbling down notes about the Pulsating Theory, but she too seemed too dazed to even understand what she was writing.

As Kabuto paused to draw a diagram on the board, she took that time to let out a sigh of relief as she finally let go of her pen. Her tight grip on it caused her fingers to ache and she could already assume that it’d be numb for a while after the continuous lecture.

Their first week of school had gone by in a flash and before anyone knew it, it was already the second week and the time to start studying for real. Introductions and games were all over and done with, no more time was left for them to be idle.

Kabuto spared a glance at his wristwatch and only then realized that he was two minutes past the scheduled class time. “That’s all for now. On our next meeting, we’ll discuss the remaining two theories and I’ll entertain your questions then. After that, if time will allow it, we’ll have a quiz on the origins of the universe.”

The class collectively groaned at his abrupt announcement while the grey-haired male collected his things and headed for the door. “Make sure to review your notes.”

Kiba felt the pressure increase tenfold and he dropped his head onto his desk in frustration, muffling a curse that left his lips.

“Kabuto-sensei’s inhuman-dattebayo!” Naruto complained as he too smacked his forehead onto his desk.

“Tell me about it,” Kiba grumbled back, lifting his head to rest his chin on his palm. “Hinata, did you copy any of that?” he asked the girl in front of him and she turned to look back with a sheepish smile.

“I may have skipped a few bits and pieces of what sensei said,” she quietly said, handing him her notebook. It was a normal occurrence for the both of them, or rather for Kiba, to borrow her notes when he couldn’t care less about paying attention in class. He could only thank the heavens for his friend’s patience and understanding for him. He had tried asking (bribing) Shino to lend him his notebook once but he was only met with a threat, so he never tried again.

But he was more than happy to make do with Hinata’s notebook. She always wrote down almost everything, down to the minutest detail, and he can confidently say that he managed to survive their first year of high school on her notes alone, instead of the teacher’s lectures. But in his defence, he made up for his low grades in written works with his above-average scores in recitations and projects. Surprisingly, the wild-natured boy was diligent and always on time when submitting projects and product tests. He was also active when it came to sharing his ideas and opinions in classroom discussions.

He took Hinata’s notebook and flipped through it. A whistle slipped past his lips as he counted at least five pages worth of the lecture their teacher had given. “I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me tonight,” he said to himself. “Thanks, Hina. I owe you one.”

Hinata merely shook her head. “There’s no need, Kiba-kun. You know that,” she lectured softly as she fixed her things. He in turn shrugged and countered.

“But I want to.” The girl caved in and sighed. “If you insist.”

\---

“Hurry up, Shikamaru,” Ino hissed at her friend as she tapped an impatient foot on the floor. She stood, arms crossed, and waited for the said male at the entrance of the library. Shikamaru grumbled something under his breath as he proceeded to take off his shoes and approached her.

“Remind me again why I’m in the library during recess,” he drawled out. Ino gave him no reply as she took his wrist and tugged him towards the tables of the study area.

“I forgot to do my homework,” she pouted out when they had taken their seats across each other. Shikamaru blinked and then gave her a smirk. “And what makes you think I did mine?”

The blonde mirrored his smirk as she opened her notebook. “Knowing you, you didn’t do your homework. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help me with mine.”

“How troublesome,” he mumbled, but his actions contradicted his words. He was already reaching for Ino’s notebook and scanning it.

“You’ve got almost all of the answers right, what do you need help with?”

Ino leaned forward to peer at her notes. “I know, but I need you to help me with the third one. I can’t figure out how to get it.”

She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at the said question and looked into Shikamaru’s narrow brown eyes and waited.

He grumbled again but soon got to work with explaining to her how to solve the problem. Her eyes lit up after every realization hit her and she broke into a bright grin.

“I get it now!” She exclaimed. From somewhere, someone shushed her and she sank into her seat, annoyed. Her look of irritation soon morphed into exhaustion as she laid her cheek on her palm and closed her eyes.

“Why does Asuma-sensei give such hard assignments? Can’t he have at least a little mercy on our souls?”

Shikamaru looked at her as she continued whining but said nothing. He knew better than to interrupt or contradict her when she would ramble on about what bothered her. Any option that involved him speaking would result to an angry Ino and a hard smack on his arm, or anywhere close enough for her to reach. He rested his cheek on his palm like her and watched as stray locks of her hair brushed against her lashes. Just as her eyelids lifted to reveal her cyan blue eyes, Shikamaru trailed his gaze away from her face and tried listening to whatever she was telling him to avoid suspicion.

He gave a few nods here, a few hums there, anything to make her believe he was paying attention. He tried to, but sometimes she could go on for hours and still not stop talking. He never hated her for that, but it was something that Ino had always done, and he grew used to being able to be at peace at the sound of her voice.

It was a different peace than when he went cloud-gazing or star-gazing alone. When he was looking up at the sky in silence, his thoughts would wander aimlessly, but when he let himself drown in the sound of her voice, he felt comforted. He felt safe.

At times, Shikamaru couldn’t help but feel bad as he continued using his friend’s talkative nature to his advantage, but she never called him out for it, so he thought he could get away with it. If she ever caught him not actually listening to her, then he’d cross that bridge when he got there. There was no point in getting caught up in things that haven’t happened yet.

He lifted his free hand to look at his watch.

“Is it almost time for the next period?” Ino asked, noticing Shikamaru’s movement. He gave her a nod and stood. “Ten minutes left.”

She gathered her belongings and the both of them walked back to their classroom. The moment they stepped foot in the room, Ino went flying over to Sakura. She had been looking for the girl after their previous class ended but didn’t find her. Ino had originally planned to have Sakura help her with her homework but Sakura seemed to have other plans as she had practically dashed out the classroom when the bell had rung.

“Sakura!" Ino had to spit out the said girl’s hair from her mouth as she was whiplashed with it when her friend turned around.

“Ino, I heard you were looking for me,” she said, shaking Ino by her shoulders. She swatted Sakura’s hands away and pouted.

“I was going to ask for help with the assignment. Where were you?”

Sakura gave her an apologetic expression and held her hands together. “I promised Naruto that I’d help him, too! _Gomen_!” Ino twitched. She was used to getting ignored by her best friend because of Sasuke (for understandable reasons), but she wasn’t planning on being a third wheel when it came to Naruto.

“Fine,” she huffed, making sure that she would emphasize the fact that she wasn’t happy with the day’s events. Sakura gave her a look as if to say that her tantrum wasn’t going to work. Ino simply shrugged indifferently. “I guess Naruto’s much more important than me, anyway.”

“Oh come on, don’t be such a drama queen,” Sakura groaned, exasperated. “I’ll help you next time, alright?”

At the small nod Ino gave, Sakura sighed and slapped her friend on the back of the head.

“Ow— why’d you do that, Forehead?!” she shrieked as she held her head. Sakura rolled her eyes, a smile tugging persistently at the corner of her mouth until she finally gave in and broke out in a grin. “Don’t be stupid. You know I came to help Naruto first because I don’t want the poor guy to fail. He’s hopeless sometimes, you know that.”

Ino continued pouting and grumbling under her breath but didn’t put up another fight.

\---

“We’ll wait for you outside, Hime!” Kiba hollered as he jogged out of the classroom and down the hall. Shino gave Hinata a short wave of his hand before he too disappeared from sight. She approached the chalk board and carefully rolled up her sleeves. She started erasing the scribbles on the board diligently until almost everything had been erased. The rest of her classmates who were stuck with the cleaning duty with her were busy fixing the chairs and tables that the other students carelessly left unarranged as they practically stormed out of the room like a stampede.

Hinata could’ve sworn that she’d even seen a dust cloud when the chaotic sea of students had dissipated into the hallway.

Naruto walked in, whistling a tune with his hands in his pockets. He had been ordered to take some papers to their mathematics teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, and had just come back from the said task. He looked around, observing the class. Almost everyone was finished with their tasks. He noticed Hinata, however, still cleaning the chalkboard. She had erased all the writings on the board and was currently wiping it with a damp cloth.

Her movements were lithe and pleasant to watch as she swiped the cloth down vertically, careful and meticulous. The moistened part of the board looked significantly better.

“Hinata, do you need any help?” A classmate asked as she approached the girl. Hinata shook her head, giving a polite smile and declined the offer.

“I’m almost done here,” she replied. Both of them exchanged friendly small talk before the former had to leave. Naruto stepped toward the soft-spoken Hinata as she continued the careful motion of cleaning the blackboard. 

“ _Ne_ ,” he started, startling the girl. She was not expecting Naruto, of all people. He could see the redness start to spread across her cheeks as he kept his eyes on her.

Ever since he could remember, Hinata had been like that. He noticed, however, that she would only ever turn flustered in his presence. In fact, he became so worked up about that matter that for a month during their freshman year he had deliberately avoided her. He didn’t do it because she gave him the creeps or because she was weird. She definitely was neither of the two. He only did it because he didn’t want to be the cause of her discomfort.

If being around him troubled her, he would do his part and not be too close. But Hinata seemed like an interesting person. Sakura and Ino gush about her adorable shyness and her elegant ladylike manners, and Kiba always speaks so highly of her that Naruto felt like he’d be missing the presence of someone so great if they wouldn’t be friends.

He wanted to be Hinata’s friend, and until she would blatantly reject his advances, he would try to get to know her. He meant her no harm, he simply wanted to be a part of her life, and he wanted her to be a part of his. Another addition to his ‘family’ would never hurt.

“You sure seem like you like cleaning-dattebayo.” He stated. Her skin flushed a darker shade of red at that, and her hand froze for a second before she continued cleaning the board.

An awkward silence ensued. Hinata had no idea whether she was supposed to respond to him or to just finish her job as quickly as possible and dash away (the usual route she took). As she opened her mouth to speak, Naruto continued, “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who’s been so diligent at cleaning the board. It’s not a bad thing though. I think it’s nice-ttebayo.”

“I, I don’t particularly like cleaning.”

The softness of Hinata’s voice rang through the now empty classroom. Sometime during her inner war with herself, her classmates had excused themselves and had taken their leave after cleaning.

Naruto blinked and cocked his head to the side, curious. “You don’t?”

She swiped one last perfect time and stepped away from the board. One side was already drying up but the other was still damp. She put down the wet cloth in her hands and took the clean one that lay on the teacher’s desk. She started swiping at the dry part of the board and soon was also wiping at the moistened portion.

“I don’t. But neither do I hate it. It’s something that must be done,” she replied, keeping her eyes trained on her task. She was surprising herself with every second she spent still standing and conscious. How was she able to keep such a calm façade? The answer to that question didn’t need to be said, however, for she knew that her demise would be looking into Naruto’s dazzling blue eyes. She knew that if she let her guard down and looked at him, she would lose it. She would turn back into a flustered, stuttering mess in front of him.

The said boy let out a breath in amazement. “That’s definitely putting things in a new perspective,” he commented as his eyes trailed past her to stare out the window. He noted the tinge of orange that seeped in through the horizon and realized that the sun was already setting.

“Well, I’d better go now-dattebayo. Are you finished?” he asked as Hinata carefully placed the used cloth by the board. She gave him a shallow nod, still avoiding his eyes. As she made her way to her bag, she noticed that he had not walked out yet, despite having stated his leave. She looked up at him, her pale lavender hues meeting with brilliant blue eyes.

They were so mesmerizing that she couldn’t even hear herself ask, “Weren’t you going to leave, Naruto-kun?”

He flashed her a bright grin. “I’ll walk with you.”

This obviously flustered her as she immediately turned red and started stuttering and stammering incoherently. He jumped, surprised, before he waved his hands in front of him and tried to calm her down.

“I mean, we can walk out of class together. I’m meeting up with Sasuke outside, so I won’t be a bother for too long! I’ll just stick around until the halls-ttebayo,” he hastily explained. Hinata found herself getting even redder in embarrassment. She had completely misinterpreted him.

As she walked out of the room, with him following behind, she looked to her left and then to her right. Sasuke was not around. A sense of both relief and disappointment struck her. She was relieved that Sasuke was not there to take Naruto away so quickly, but she was also disappointed that Naruto was only walking with her until he found Sasuke.

Pushing those thoughts away, she walked beside the blond boy, stiff as a board.

Just after they had changed their shoes, Naruto bid farewell to the purple-haired girl as he joined Sasuke who was waiting outside. Sakura was practically glued to the Uchiha’s side as she talked to him about a matter he was clearly not paying attention to. Hinata tore her eyes away from the trio after seeing Naruto’s face light up like Christmas lights when he saw her pink-haired friend. It saddened her to think that she could never have him look at her that way, but she pushed that thought away, too.

As she made it outside, a smile spread across her features as she saw Shino and Kiba waiting for her only a ways away. As she joined them, she engaged Shino in a conversation about their assignments for the day, not seeing the way Kiba’s sharp eyes lingered on her before they shot to a certain blond boy, talking with his friends.


	7. Chapter 7

Tenten called the attention of her classmates with a commanding voice. She made them form a perfect circle around her. “Let’s start with neck rotations,” she stated and started a quick demonstration. “Everyone should be counting. Neck rotations to the right. And, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.”

“Now, to the left. One, two, three, four…” the class joined in on the chorus of counting as they followed her instructions. After they had finished their warm-ups, Maito Gai, the class’s homeroom and physical education teacher let out the shrill blow of his whistle. The class dispersed like ants at the sound of the whistle and soon all were engaged in various games of tag, volleyball, and baseball.

“Neji!” The said male turned to see Tenten jogging over to him. “Want to race?”

The perfect almost-smile graced his lips and he cocked his head slightly to the right. “I thought you’d never ask.”

The pair headed over to the more secluded area of the spacious field and got to their positions.

“On three,” Neji said, his brown hair cascading down his back and past his shoulders as he bent towards the ground. Tenten never understood why he wouldn’t tie his hair whenever he ran. Wasn’t it a bother to have it whipping around everywhere?

“Three!” She shouted and sprinted off. Hearing a sharp ‘tsk’ from her opponent, a triumphant smile stretched across her face. He always fell for it, no matter how many times she did that to him. Her breath came in short as she continued running. The head start always gave her an obvious lead but she knew Neji was a slow burner. He had more stamina than her, and though she could outrun him in a short distance, long-distance running was always his forte.

In a matter of seconds they were already sprinting side by side, perspiration evident on their necks and faces, the warmth of the sun heating up their exposed skin. When they felt as though their lungs would not take any more air and their throats would be close to freezing, both Neji and Tenten slowed down to jogs before simultaneously bending over, hands on their knees, and panting for their lives.

“Aaaah, we should’ve gotten a referee—” a cough interrupted her speech. “Or something.”

The sound of their other classmates and the bouncing of balls were white noise to their ears as they tried to regain their composure.

“Mine!” _Bam!_ “Oi—”

A gust of wind blew in front of Tenten’s face, her brown eyes fixated on the volleyball that Neji managed to smack back before it hit her.

“Our bad! Sorry about that,” their classmate apologized, bringing the volleyball back to the court.

“Thanks for that,” Tenten sheepishly grinned. Neji gave an indifferent nod as he looked away. “One more match?” He asked as he flicked a stray strand of hair away from his eyes.

“You’re on,” came the girl’s enthusiastic reply.

\---

Ino slipped her notebook into her bag, sighing. The Japanese class with Kakashi had her beat.

“Oi.” She looked to her right, noticing Shikamaru approach her, his bag already on his shoulder, and ready to leave. “Ready to go?”

She cocked her head to the side, confused. They stared blankly at each other for a solid minute before a yawn from her pineapple-haired friend interrupted.

“You’re supposed to come over for dinner, remember?” He drawled out, adjusting the strap that was slipping off his shoulder. Her cyan eyes shone in realization and a bright grin erupted on her face. “Right! And you’re supposed to help me with that book report, right?”

A groan left his lips as he turned away from her, his hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets. “Troublesome. Let’s go before I change my mind, I can always tell my mom that you cancelled.”

Ino let out a condescending laugh at his remark. “Sure, like she’d believe you. You’d only get an earful with that excuse. You know your parents love having me over,” she responded, hurriedly fixing her things to catch up with Shikamaru’s already retreating form. A troubled scoff left his lips as he continued walking, subtly slowing down to let her fall into step with him.

Their idle chatter continued as they neared the gates of the school where Choji stood, waiting.

“Speaking of lab partners, isn’t Sai yours, Shika?” Ino’s question caught him off guard. Sai?

“What about him?” He voiced out, sparing his friend a glance. She had her hands clasped behind her back as she stared aimlessly at the horizon ahead. “Switch with me. Yakushi-sensei just assigned partners, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we switched this early, right?”

“Why?”

Choji watched, his head turning from left to right as he followed in on his companions’ conversation.

“Just because! Come on, don’t ask unnecessary questions. Just switch with me. You switched last year when I asked, didn’t you?”

“That was different. You asked to switch so you wouldn’t be paired with Karin. But even so, I still don’t forgive you for that. I couldn’t tell if she hated me or was just plain evil, but I had to actually do the assignments last year. My life depended on it.”

Ino blinked before bursting into a fit of giggles. Only she, Yamanaka Ino, could get the lazy Nara Shikamaru to spout out so many words in such a short period of time. He practically said all of that in one breath. She shrugged nonchalantly as she flicked her blonde hair with a dramatic flair.

“I’m sure my partner now wouldn’t be so demanding.” Shikamaru only shot her a deadpanned look. “No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“I won’t ask for another favour this week.”

“No.”

“Okay, no more favours for the rest of the month.” His lip twitched in temptation.

“No.”

“For the rest of the year, Shikamaru.” A smirk tilted his mouth to the side. “That’s a while,” he commented. Ino paused, irked, as she counted down the months until the next year. Huffing, she crossed her arms.

“I take it back.” She tapped her fingers on her arm impatiently before slapping his shoulder in frustration. “Just switch with me already!”

“Why do you want to be paired with Sai so bad?” Choji asked through a mouthful of chips. How he had enough room for dinner, she wouldn’t know. Ino gave Choji a look as if he was missing out on something incredibly important, but the male did not understand what she meant to say. What _was_ so interesting about the dark-haired boy for her to be so stuck on the idea of being lab partners with him? The last time she switched lab partners, cue Shikamaru’s death, was because (1) she didn’t want to be paired with Karin, and (2) she wanted to switch with Shikamaru’s partner, who had been Sakura.

“It’s none of your business, just let me switch, guys!” she exclaimed in exasperation. Both Shikamaru and Choji exchanged knowing glances. They had spoiled her far too much.

“For the final time, no. I don’t want you to end up harassing the poor guy. Besides, he seems quiet. _I could use some quiet_ ,” Shikamaru hinted, smugly, making his friend fume at his implication.

“Oh, _I’m sorry_. I guess I actually _do_ want to cancel out our families’ dinner plans. See you never, Shika- _baka_!” With those parting words and a failed, albeit cute, attempt at sticking her tongue out at both friends, she stomped forward, leaving them behind and turned the corner, marching towards her house instead of the Nara residence.

“Oi!”

“Ino, he was just kidding! Come on, we’re both going to get roasted if you don’t come!” Choji and Shikamaru yelled after her. It was true. The last time they had pissed her off and she didn’t come to a planned family dinner of the Ino-Shika-Cho, a sort of fellowship of their three families, Shikamaru and Choji heard an earful from Nara Yoshino, scolding them about having to leave Ino out. They never got to explain their side of the story, and they knew it’d be the same case this time around.

Ino only scoffed at their attempts to get her to come back as she continued her angry walk back home.

“Well, say hi to your parents for me then!”

\---

“Is this the one you want, bud?” Akamaru let out a delighted yip as Kiba held out a _tsukune-_ flavoured treat to him. Chuckling, he gracelessly pulled at least five of the said treats from the rack and dropped them into the shopping basket that he had hanging from his arm. Soft footsteps approached him and he spun around just in time to see his shopping partner, Hinata, smiling as she came with rubber toys in hand.

“I thought Akamaru would like these.” Kiba eyed them individually, particularly careful and picky whenever it came to his pet and best friend’s needs. He let out a soft hum.

“Sure, he still likes playing with those. But they might just be discarded by the end of the week. He loves to play with those things so much that he ends up tearing them to ribbons.” Kiba shrugged. “But I guess that’s better than tearing the rest of the house to ribbons. I really wasn’t messing with Kurenai-sensei when I said he ate my homework!”

Hinata giggled as she placed the toys carefully into the basket. Her eyes caught sight of Kiba’s choice of treats and an eyebrow raised as she looked at the item incredulously, or as incredulous as someone of her purity could.

“Tsukune-flavored?” Kiba gave another shrug as he continued looking for more things to add to his shopping basket. “I don’t know how they’ll taste either, but he seems to like how they smell so far. I took five just in case he wouldn’t want more.”

“Kiba-kun, _‘just five_ ’ is already more than enough. What if he wouldn’t like just one?” she inquired. Kiba paused, she had a point.

He looked down at the treats before once again shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe _Kuromaru_ would like them, or the triplets,” he said, referring to his mother’s companion and his older sister’s dogs, the Haimaru brothers. Hinata nodded in response. “But if they don’t, I don’t think your mom or Hana-chan would appreciate you feeding them treats they wouldn’t like.”

Kiba shuddered at the thought of his mother or sister’s fury should it come, but he shook the thought away. “In that case, I’m sure some _other_ dog would like it. I mean, they wouldn’t sell it for no reason, right?”

Hearing a satisfied hum in agreement, Kiba continued looking for more items. They had finally visited the pet store that Hinata had suggested. Although because of several setbacks, particularly the tsunami of schoolwork that hit them unexpectedly, they were a month late from their prior arrangement to visit the said store. But it was better late than never. It was almost identical with other pet stores, but the ambience inside was particularly friendly with a poster of pets arranged creatively along the walls. The photos were made to look like Polaroid shots and were clipped onto string that was pasted on the wall, making the entire four walls look like it came out of a scrapbook. Other novelty items for pets were marketed throughout the store, and Kiba appreciated the effort they put into separating the aisles by the type of pet owned. Hinata seemed to particularly like the little knickknacks for puppies along the end of the aisle that they were on.

He looked down at his basket and decided that he had everything he needed. “Hina, I’m off to pay. Are you going to get anything?”

The purple-haired girl shook her head. It wasn’t like she had a pet, she simply accompanied Kiba and Akamaru on their trip to the pet store, wanting to check it out herself. She trailed behind Kiba as he made his way to the counter. She gasped in awe at even more novelty items that were stacked right beside the cashier. They had key chains of the most adorable pups, printed mugs, pillows, and even socks. She picked up a ball pen that had a corgi on its cap and smiled at its cuteness.

Akamaru circled her legs, peering up to see what she was gushing at. She set the pen down and crouched in front of him instead, ruffling his soft fur.

“You’re happy that you’re getting new things, aren’t you, boy?” She cooed softly. The white canine licked her fingers merrily as if to agree, before nuzzling into the palm of her hand.

As they exited the store, Kiba reached a hand up to run through his messy brown locks. “Wanna stop by the _konbini_ to get ice cream?”

“Okay.” They rounded the corner and made their way inside the pleasantly air-conditioned store.

“By the way,” the Inuzuka started, reaching into his dog-printed tote bag (a gift from Hinata and Shino on his and Akamaru’s birthday). He pulled out a pen, the one with the small sculpted image of a corgi on the cap, and handed it to her. “Here.”

Hinata looked at the pen in her hands, and then up at her friend who was grinning mischievously. “A thank-you for always lending me your notebook.”

The young girl laughed and thanked him for the surprise. “As I said, it’s nothing,”

“It’s definitely something.” He interrupted. “You’re helping me with _a lot_. For example, _passing_.” He earned another laugh from her. “Alright then, you’re welcome. Although I can’t help but think that you gifted me with a pen to imply that I _should_ continue writing down notes for your benefit.”

Kiba sent a playful wink her way as he picked out an ice Popsicle from the freezer. “You know me well, princess.” Furrowing her brows and frowning, Hinata crossed her arms and gave him a disapproving stare.

“I’m kidding! Here, have ice cream.” He handed her a coned treat and she took it.

\---

“Nii-san?”

“Hinata-sama.”

“Senpai?”

“Hey, Kiba.”

Hinata and Kiba stood in confusion in front of Neji and Tenten who had seemed to materialize from thin air. They were just making their way back to the Hyuga estate when they bumped into one another.

“I invited Tenten and Lee to the dojo. Would you like to join us?” Neji asked. As if on cue, Lee came jogging over to them. “I have arrived!”

Hinata looked from her cousin to his friends, and then to Kiba. “Kiba-kun, would you like to come?”

Before he could answer, he felt Akamaru impatiently nudge his hand with his snout, wanting to return home and play with his newly bought toys. Realizing his situation, Kiba waved a dismissive hand.

“No thanks, I gotta get Akamaru home. And it’s my shift tonight at the Pound.” The Inuzuka Pound was popular among all citizens and Inuzuka Hana’s veterinary clinic that was established right next to it has been flourishing with business since its opening less than a year ago. During weekends, Kiba volunteers to help out his mum and sister in dealing with the customers or tending to the animals’ needs.

“Oh, I see. Nii-san, I’ll catch up.” Neji nodded and proceeded to lead his companions to the large Hyuga estate. Hinata crouched in front of Akamaru and petted him. “See you, Akamaru,” she said, to be replied with an excited hound licking her face.

“A’right break it off, you two. Don’t get so lovey-dovey in my face,” Kiba teased as he eased his dog from Hinata and helped her stand. She laughed, wiping at herself with a handkerchief and smiled at Kiba. “I had fun today, Kiba-kun. See you at school. Oh, and all the best with handling the shift later.”

Kiba gave her a salute as he and Akamaru turned the other way to walk back. “You got it. See you!”

Hinata made her way to the Hyuga estate and proceeded to one of the many dojos. Her family ran the largest taijutsu dojo in all of Konoha and one of the largest companies when it came to eye care, as most of her family were licensed and practising ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. Their company was headed by her father, Hyuga Hiashi, while the dojo was run by her uncle, Hyuga Hizashi. Due to his untimely death, another one of their close relatives took the position as the dojo’s master.

Hinata was the heiress to her father’s company, while her younger sister, Hanabi was the heiress to the dojo. But her father, and both Hinata and Hanabi, knew that Neji was more than capable of being the successor of his father’s dojo. She had overheard Hiashi’s talks with the elders before, about Neji possibly inheriting the dojo as it had been his father’s and had not been directly under the main family’s ownership. She was happy for him. Whatever had been his father’s should be his as well, and she would support anything that would make her cousin happy.

As she reached the dojo that the trio had entered, she immediately sighed at the scene in front of her. Tenten sat on a mat, rocking on her haunches impatiently. Lee and Neji were locked in a heated spar, a mess of limbs and hair and several of Lee’s shrieks and yells. They dodged and blocked each other’s attacks perfectly, completely in sync with one another’s fighting styles. Hinata took her place next to Tenten.

“How long have they been going at it?” She asked the older girl who only gave a sigh of exasperation. “It’s been seven minutes. And in case they haven’t noticed, _someone else wants to spar too_!” She said, raising her voice in an obvious attempt to get the boys’ attention. Realizing they didn’t notice her, she continued sulking in her seat. “I can’t believe I’m third-wheeling them again, Hinata-chan.”

“ _Eto_ , to take you out of your misery, would you like to spar with me?”

“Heh? Ah, I could never! I mean,”

“Nii-san has taught me well,” Hinata interjected, getting to her feet. Tenten hesitated. She knew that Neji and Hinata trained often, and although Neji was better at it than his younger cousin, she knew that Hinata was a fast and eager learner. Deciding it was better than nothing, she nodded. “Alright. It’ll be a good warm-up for when I go up against your blockhead of a cousin.”

In between Lee’s heavy kicks and his own powerful blows, Neji shot Tenten a glare. “I heard that.”

She smirked without meeting his pale eyes as she followed Hinata to the room next door to spar. “I know.”

\---

Shikamaru groaned as the constant ringing of his phone pulled him from sleep. He rolled to his side and extended a hand towards his bedside table. Something, most likely his framed photo of Ino-Shika-Cho with their first-year adviser, Sarutobi Asuma, clattered as it fell off the table. His fingertips finally made contact with the smooth surface of his phone and he grabbed it none too gently and swiped right to answer the incoming call.

“Shikamaru.” The said male’s eyes groggily opened at Ino’s chipper tone. What could she want at such an ungodly hour? He squinted to look at his alarm clock and sighed. It was only 7 in the morning. Sunlight was barely beginning to stream into his room. “Is the world ending?” He asked, sarcasm dripping like venom from his tongue. Nothing annoyed him more than having to wake up unnecessarily early when he shouldn’t — well, if he was being honest, being talked to so happily after having to wake up unnecessarily early was a close second.

“No, are we still having that group study with Choji and Kiba later?” Shikamaru sat up slowly. He completely forgot about their plans. But even so, if memory serves, their group study was not until after lunch. She was calling _way_ too early to inquire.

“I think Kiba cancelled or someth—”

“Great! I mean, no, not great. But I just got off the phone with Choji and he said he had a stomachache or something, so I said he should take the whole day to recover. I mean, we can’t risk him getting sick, right? Anyway, I was wondering if Kiba had other plans. I mean, it’s not like I don’t want to have a group study…” Shikamaru yawned, tuning out Ino’s rambles. He pulled his phone away from his ear and looked around his room sleepily.

“I should get something to eat,” he mumbled to himself, scratching an itch on his chest. He brought his phone back to his ear, sighing in defeat. He wasn’t getting any more sleep anytime soon. “… And so, I decided that _you_ should call Kiba.” Ino finally ended.

“Is there a particular reason why you’re cancelling?” he asked, not amused. A sigh followed his question. He didn’t care if they were cancelling, good riddance for him. He could spend his Sunday in peace, but why did she have to call so early? He was still stuck on the fact that his childhood friend called him _too_ early in the morning. It was an awful thing to do. He didn’t piss her off _that_ much to deserve this.

“Sakura and I are having a movie marathon in her place.” He tried rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, along with the frustration. He could understand a girl’s day. “Alright, just the both of you?” He asked absentmindedly as he got out of bed. Stumbled, really, because his sheets were tangled with his legs.

“Well,” the hesitation in his voice piqued his interest. He wasn’t absolutely interested in who she was going to go with, but why was she so uneasy about telling him?

“It’s actually Sakura, Naruto, and Sai, and I.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Really? What, are you infatuated with him now?”

“Hey, it’s nothing like that!” She defended immediately. He could almost see the pout she was most likely wearing. “I just think… I just think he’s cute.”

A wry chuckle left him as he made his way to the bathroom. “Yeah, and I _obviously_ hate sleeping. Alright, have fun. Let me sleep.”

Ino laughed. “Thank you, Shika. I owe you one.” With that, the line went dead. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. Bunching his hair up quickly but messily together, he pulled the hair tie from his wrist and bound his dark locks into a high ponytail. The feeling of frustration was creeping back on him, but he was not frustrated for the same reason. It was different, but he couldn’t point out why. He was feeling weird, gross, even. He couldn’t explain why, and that added to his vexation. He didn’t like this feeling.

\---

“Yo!” Tenten greeted with a cheeky salute as she met with Neji and Hinata at the crossroads on the way to school. The younger Hyuga smiled at her presence and gave a short bow. “ _Ohayo._ ”

“Morning,” Neji muttered, glancing at his friend before continuing to walk. Tenten fell into step beside him, Hinata trailing slightly behind. The brunette watched in silence as his slender fingers fiddled aimlessly with the zipper on his bag. She adjusted her gaze to the horizon in front of her and gave out a long sigh.

“School’s getting too fast-paced,” she said quietly, reaching upwards to fix the chignons on her head. He hummed in response. They continued in silence. The breeze blew pleasantly against them, cool against their skin. After a few blocks, Kiba joined their trio and pulled Hinata away. She watched as the reserved young woman laughed with her friends and bloomed in their presence. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She always felt like a doting older sister when it came to Hinata — partly because of having known her for almost as long as she’s known Neji (which has been long enough) and also partly because the girl had a certain charisma to her. It wasn’t as powerful as Naruto’s or Neji’s. Her charisma was more diffident, taciturn, but nonetheless eye-catching. It was hard to stop caring for her once you’ve started.

Neji’s pale eyes briefly turned to his companion. Stray hands of her brown hair danced with the wind. Her attempt at fixing her hairdo did nothing to tame her locks. He was struck by the silence — it was odd to not have a conversation with Tenten. She and Lee were in charge of all the spoken words in their trio of close friends. Now, she was not sparking a conversation. He slowly realized that they had nothing to talk about because they no longer spent classes together. They could no longer reminisce on the silly moments they experienced during Science or that embarrassing situation during Social Studies. Now, the only time they can relate to one another is during their miraculous joint-classroom session on Physical Education.

Somehow their classes had to merge because of Gai, their teacher’s schedule that could only handle both their classes simultaneously. A small sigh left his lips. He continued fiddling with the zipper of his bag. The silence was unsettling, it was foreign, and sometimes foreign scared Neji. It made him anxious. He is always several steps ahead, but in uncharted territory, he didn’t have the slightest clue on what to do. Nonetheless, there is no other way to go but forward.

“… Sparring…” he mumbled, slightly unsure. Tenten’s chocolate brown eyes looked at him, missing a step. “Eh? What was that?” she asked, not sure if he had even spoken to her.

“This weekend,” Neji said, louder and much more certain. “Let’s spar again, with Lee.”

Tenten pouted at his request and crossed her arms. “But I’m always third-wheeling you guys! It isn’t fun to always ask Hinata-chan to spar with me when the both of you won’t let each other go! Besides, even though it’s fun with Hinata-chan, I’m afraid I might break her with how frequent I challenge her to a spar.”

Neji waved off her whines. “Hinata-sama is used to frequent sparring. I have trained with her, therefore her stamina is adequate enough to withstand yours.” He cocked his head to the side and by the slight upturn at the corner of his lips, Tenten was sure he was about to gloat or mock her.

“But if you’re unsatisfied, I’m sure Lee and I could spar alone instead. No need to have you ‘third-wheeling.’” Ah, there it is. The arrogance that defined Hyuga Neji. She frowned and sent a blight punch his way. “No way. If I leave the both of you alone, you might completely forget about me,” she grumbled.

“Sure,” he replied sarcastically at her exaggeration.

\---

Ino jolted in surprise as the doorbell of the Haruno household rang. She turned her head, craning to look outside the large living room windows. “Is it them?” She asked earnestly. Sakura bit back her smile as she rolled her eyes and beckoned her friend to follow her.

“Why don’t we find out?” Their sandals hit the newly made garden path as they made their way towards the front gate where two figures stood. The awkward silence was evident between them and Naruto’s usually boisterous aura had dissipated in light of Sai’s devastatingly monotonous air.

“You’re late,” Sakura deadpanned as she swung the front door open to let the boys in. For a split second, they saw the relief wash through Naruto’s face as he saw them, grateful for some conversation.

“ _Gomen_ , Sakura-chan, we almost forgot to buy the snacks!” He held up two large paper bags full of food and Sakura eyed them cautiously. “You’d better make sure that your alibi’s real.”

Sai smiled at her, raising a hand as if asking for a high-five. “I accompanied him to the _konbini_.” She huffed and finally let them inside, holding Ino by her wrist to keep her friend by her side. The blonde looked as though she was ready to pounce at Sai.

“Oi, Naruto, help me get some snacks ready,” Sakura ordered as they finished the second movie of the day. Sai blankly watched the credits roll by and Ino was scrolling through her phone as she sat on an armchair, leisurely running her fingers through the ends of her hair. Naruto whined at the request but begrudgingly stood. Sakura smirked at his obedience and led him toward the kitchen, leaving Ino and Sai alone.

“Did you like the movie?” Sai looked to his side to see Ino facing him. Realizing that her question was directed at him, he paused for a moment before slowly shrugging his shoulders. “It was alright.”

She hummed and turned back towards her phone. “I picked the next one, so be sure to pay close attention. It’s one of my favourites and I’d like to know what you think about it.”

Although her voice and tone were as calm and self-assured as usual, she could feel her heartbeat in her throat. One of her defence mechanisms was talking people’s heads off, and she just prayed that Sai wouldn’t sense her nerves.

“I will,” he replied with the same calmness and monotony. _Typical_ , Ino thought. She figured that he’d be hard to read, but the guy was as tough and as blank as a slab of rock. She crossed one leg over the other and swung both of them over the arm of the chair, making her sit horizontally on it with her back resting against the other arm.

As she scrolled through her phone, she felt a presence close to her and then a thick blanket rested on her lap. Letting out a surprised and shrill shriek, she dropped her phone onto the carpeted floor and almost struck Sai in the face, had it not been for his lightning-fast reflexes as he managed to dodge her arm that swung out of her control.

He had gotten up from his seat on the far end of the sofa and brought one of the blankets to her, setting it down onto her lap. Yamanaka Ino was alert at all times, and being aware of her environment was something she prided herself in, as she did attract a lot of attention—but this was one of the rare moments that she had not noticed anyone getting close to her. His soft footsteps could have been muted by the carpet, but she surely would have noticed that Sai was standing right next to her, yet she didn’t. She didn’t even realize that he had moved from his seat.

Naruto and Sakura came stumbling out of the kitchen when they heard her distressed cry before the both of them sank to the floor in relief when they realized that there was no imminent danger.

“Ino, _don’t do that_!” Sakura scolded before she dragged Naruto back with her to finish up the snacks. Ino’s cyan-blue eyes followed them before they disappeared into the hall and she looked to her side to meet Sai’s blank gaze.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he finally spoke, the distinct sound of his voice sounded glorious in comparison to the silence that she sat through just moments prior. She sent him a nasty look as she snatched her phone from his hands as he picked it up for her and crossed her arms.

“Then you shouldn’t have done that!” She retorted. He gave her a bright smile, although nothing about his facial expression showed any genuine emotion. “I was simply covering up your legs.”

His straightforwardness caught Ino off-guard and she blushed upon realizing that her shorts were leaving very little to the imagination, and even less as she had crossed her legs and draped them over the armchair. Hurriedly fixing the blanket to cover herself while stammering to get a coherent sentence out, she thanked him and shooed him away at the same time.

Relaxing his face and as though wiping away his smile, Sai stood and sat back down onto the sofa with the same ambiguous gaze onto the TV screen. Ino let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and went back to scrolling through her phone.

“We’re finally done!” Sakura exclaimed as she stepped back into the room, empty-handed. Naruto followed seconds later, trying to balance two large bowls filled with popcorn and nachos, as well as a plate of sandwiches in his hands.

“S-S-Sakura-chan, help me!” Ino laughed before she took one bowl from his shaky hands before he could trip on something and ruin their meal. She carefully set it down on the wooden coffee table and got up. “I’ll get the drinks.”

“Wait up!” Sakura followed her and they took the pitcher of orange juice and glasses back into the living room. As she sat back down, the movie started and she immediately faced the screen.

“Ah, ah! Bathroom break!” Naruto declared as he shot up and hastily made his way to the bathroom. Ino glared at him for having distracted her from the movie but she soon went back to watching.

 _Ding!_ “Shhh!” Sakura hissed as she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, and concentrated on the climax of the film. Ino fished her phone from underneath the mess of throw pillows and the blanket that lay over her on the armchair and quickly put it on silent mode. Her phone lit up with an immediate notification.

**Shika-baka:** _Are you still at Sakura’s?_

Ino raised her brow in surprise. It wasn’t like Shikamaru to send her a message. It wasn’t like him at all.

_What’s up?_ She replied.

She waited for ten minutes before she tucked her phone back into the pillows in frustration. He shouldn’t just text her and then not wait for her reply!

As she reached for a glass of juice and brought it to her lips, her eyes met Sai’s as he looked at her. She almost spilt her drink but caught herself and took a tiny sip before gently setting the glass back down. Sai’s eyes followed her movements before he turned his attention back on the film. Although she wanted to continue watching as her favourite part was coming up, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the black-haired boy sitting just a ways from her. The heavy curtains were let down, enveloping the room in cosy darkness and setting the mood for the perfect movie marathon night, even though it was bright and sunny outside.

The soft glow from the television illuminated Sai, and Ino marvelled at the stark contrast that it made on his chalk-white skin.

“ _Bishounen_ ,” she muttered under her breath.

“Eh?” Naruto stopped in his tracks as she spoke and looked at her. He was starting to turn red from his neck to his ears.

“Eh?” Ino panicked, realizing that he had heard her.

“You… Really think so?” He softly said, catching both Sakura and Sai’s attention. “ _What_? Hold, hold on a minute now. I wasn’t—”

“But, Ino, you know you’re not my type.”

“ _HAH?!_ And who said you were my type?!” She grabbed a pillow and started whacking him mercilessly while Naruto cried out for help.

“Oi, oi! Don’t make a ruckus!” Sakura joined in and tried to bring them apart. She motioned for Sai and he held Naruto behind him in a protective manner as Sakura held Ino back.

“You’re definitely not my type either, _baka_!” She huffed and panted from the exertion and crossed her arms haughtily over her chest, staring down at Naruto as if he were a peasant.

“Then why’d you call me a _bishounen_?” He cowered behind Sai as Ino started fuming once more. Sakura froze before she pulled Ino into the kitchen, trying desperately to hold back her laughter.

“It isn’t funny!” Ino whined helplessly, pink from frustration.

“ _Pffft_ , you know Naruto misunderstands a lot. But really, did you have to say that just as he was passing by?” If looks could kill, both Naruto and Sakura would have been annihilated with one glance from the blonde.

“I was simply appreciating his looks.” Her friend gave her an incredulous look. “ _Naruto_?”

“Wha—No, you idiot! _Sai_! Acknowledging the fact that Naruto even has any looks, to begin with, would be the last thing I do.”

“Alright, whatever you say.” The two lingered for a while more as Sakura tried to calm Ino down.

“Oi, the movie’s almost over, you two,” they heard Naruto call from the living room.

“The popcorn’s almost over as well,” Sai’s voice followed.

Sakura let out a small chuckle and looked at Ino. “Well, I guess that’s our cue to head back?”

Ino took a deep breath before flicking her hair from her face. “Alright.”

She followed her friend back into the living room and the blonde inwardly groaned as she realized that she had missed her favourite part and unceremoniously sat back on the armchair. Feeling an object poke uncomfortable at her bottom, she reached under her to grab her phone. Not bothering to spare it a glance, she simply slipped the device into her purse that sat undisturbed on the floor, failing to notice the notification on her lock screen.

**Shika-baka:** _Choji’s feeling better. Want to get some ice cream?_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 08

Hinata carefully stacked one lunchbox on top of the other and slipped them into her lunch bag. She made her way down the silent halls of the large main house towards the front door. Taking a second to look at her reflection in the mirror, she ruffled her bangs lightly before stepping into her shoes and heading out.

“ _Ohayo_ ,” Neji greeted as she stepped outside. He unfolded his arms and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers. He pushed himself from leaning on the wall and eyed her lunch bag.

“ _Ohayo_ , Neji-nii san,” she greeted back, giving a small bow of her head.

“Is that all yours or are you feeding a battalion?” Hinata blinked before letting out a lighthearted giggle as they started their walk to school.

“Kiba-kun’s been practising after school for the sports festival. It’s the least I could do to support him.” Neji gave a hum of indifference. “Nii-san, wouldn’t you like to be in the soccer team as well?”

Neji let out a disgruntled noise at the mention of the team sport.

“I prefer racing, Hinata-sama, you know that. I feel caged when there are other people to worry about. Even more so when said people are too competitive that they forget the meaning of _team_ sports.” The said girl gave her cousin a side glance. He used to play soccer during his earlier years of high school, but ever since he discovered the joy of running, he became addicted to it. She didn’t blame him. She understood what it felt like to have your heart set on something so much that you refuse to see the other options laid out in front of you. She just wanted to try and have him consider entering a team sport. It could be the last time he’d get the luxury of playing for the sake of it. He was already in his third year. There was a lot on his plate. And although Hyuga Neji was capable of all the things he was expected to do, it would never hurt to try and get the most out of his last year.

The cousins parted ways when Kiba called Hinata over to him and Shino, leaving Neji to walk with Tenten. It had almost become a routine.

“Hime, are you going to be cheering for us?” Hinata gave her friend a warm smile.

“Of course,” she paused as she added apologetically, “but I’m staying with Ino-chan by the medical area, so I’ll be cheering you on from there.”

“Heh? No fair,” he sulked. “Oi, isn’t that unfair? Oi, Shino, back me up, man.” Shino adjusted his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose and made them momentarily glint from the morning sunlight.

“I would say it’s not fair. Don’t you have shifts for that?” He added quietly. Kiba turned his burning gaze to Hinata. She avoided his gaze as she let out a nervous chuckle. “I, I mean, I could confirm that. Maybe we will be having shifts. I’ll have to check the schedule they’ll give me.”

“ _Yosh_! Having Hinata cheer us on ensures our victory!” Kiba exclaimed.

“You’re treating her like a lucky charm,” Shino quipped, keeping his gaze ahead and missing the blush engulfing the Inuzuka’s cheeks.

“It, it’s nothing like that! She’s just as precious to me as a lucky charm!” He quickly defended. His words sunk into him a second later and he groaned at the horrible sentence. “Never mind, but you get the idea!”

He turned an even darker shade of red when Hinata’s laughter joined in and he grumpily crossed his arms together. “You guys!”

“Alright, we,” Hinata covered her mouth to try and silence her giggles. “We understand you, Kiba-kun.”

\---

**The day of the Sports Festival**

“Agh! I can’t believe we lost!” Kiba exclaimed, blazing in anger and the added heat of the sun. He ripped the yellow band off his head and furiously fanned himself with a piece of card stock he found lying around.

“Oi, it’s only the boys’ relay.” Sakura scolded, crossing her arms. “We have to do with second place for now.”

She was obviously pissed as well, her hands clenched into tight fists, as she looked at the track the teams had just run. She clicked her tongue and sighed loudly. “I can’t believe Neji-senpai is that fast.”

“We still have a chance,” Kiba mumbled, slightly out of breath. “We have Tenten-senpai. I hear she’s the only one who can race him head-on. We’ll turn the tables during the mixed relay.”

His sharp eyes sent a glare towards the irked Haruno. “You’d better stop trying to get Aiko-kun out of the lineup. The runners are final, I already submitted it to Gai-sensei so stop trying to bribe him to give you his spot!”

“Are you accusing me?” She practically shrieked. “You didn’t even tell me that Tenten-senpai had called for volunteers before you submitted that form, _baka_!”

He simply rolled his eyes at her and stomped away to get some water. She huffed in her place and turned swiftly on her heel before marching away to Ino, already coming up with an entire speech about her encounter with the Inuzuka.

As Kiba marched past Hinata, her pale eyes followed him as he shovelled through his bag for his water bottle. She made her way to him in haste.

“Kiba-kun.” He looked up at her in surprise before letting go of his bag.

“Hey.” His dejected tone was not left unnoticed.

“You did well.” Hinata held out a chilled bottle of water for him which he gladly accepted.

“Thanks, Hime. We’re getting gold for the mixed relay for sure.”

“I’m sure you will.” The corner of Kiba’s lips turned up to a confident smirk as he chugged down his drink.

Hinata took the empty bottle from his hands as he bent down to adjust his socks.

“I’d better go back now,” he said, jogging in place. “Stay hydrated, yeah? The student medics aren’t having it any better than us in this heat.”

She nodded and gave a polite bow before they parted ways and went back to their respective areas.

“Oi, oi, you’ve got to be kidding me right now.” Kiba stared at the participating members of the red team as he stretched.

His classmate and teammate, Aiko stretched next to him. “What?”

“Lee-senpai,” was all that left Kiba’s mouth. As Aiko turned to look at the red team he groaned in exasperation. “The third years are no joke, huh? I thought most of them would not be participating so much this sports fest.”

Kiba let out a snort. “In their defence, I think this is one of the only stress relievers and fun they’ll get this year before they bleed over their exams. No wonder they’re so high-spirited right now. But man are they competitive.”

Lee was stretching with his teammates and motivating them with an invigorating speech. Naruto was one of those teammates and he was fired up. The blond had his bandanna wrapped around his head, pushing his unruly bangs out of his face. His fiery passion ignited something in Kiba and he let out an invigorated grunt that looked and sounded too much like a ferocious snarl. Aiko froze from beside him and slowly shuffled away from Kiba’s burning aura.

“They shouldn’t take us Inuzukas so lightly,” he declared in a low voice, swiping his tongue along his lower lip in unhidden excitement.

“And there he goes again,” Ino comments as she organized some bandages in a small basket. She was looking over at the track field where the four teams were preparing for the mixed relay. Hinata looked up from beside her and spotted Kiba stretching.

She gave a small smile and shook her head as she put back the isopropyl alcohol neatly in its place on the table in front of them. “What do you mean? He’s always like that.”

“No, I mean, _look_. I swear, sometimes it’s really believable that he’s into Naruto. Have you _seen_ how intense their staring contests can get? Besides, he always gets so worked up when Naruto’s worked up. He’s obviously easily influenced by the person he likes. I mean, Kiba has always been the impulsive type but isn’t he just ridiculously affected whenever Naruto’s involved—in any sort of way?”

The silence that ensued backed up Ino’s inference. Hinata pondered over the matter silently before looking at her brunette friend in the distance.

“That isn’t possible,”

“ _Oh_ , trust me Hinata. It’s definitely possible. When it comes to Kiba, it may seem far-fetched, but it _could_ happen.”

Hinata’s silence brought an amused and smug smile on Ino’s face. She wasn’t trying to exploit Hinata’s occasional naiveté but messing with Kiba was too good an opportunity to pass. His reactions were as priceless as Sakura’s, and it wasn’t her fault that they were too irresistibly bad-tempered. It was almost impossible to not tease the two. _Almost_. The blonde has learned her lesson when it comes to pranks and practical jokes. If Sakura’s jab to her stomach and Kiba’s snarl in her face has taught her anything, it’s that she has to limit her antics to just three times a week.

“You mean to say,” Hinata paused. “Kiba-kun… likes Naruto-kun?”

Ino had to slap a hand on her mouth to keep her maniacal laughter in. _This girl is too precious for the world_ , she thought. She glanced over at her friend who was turning pink from the realization that Ino’s words procured in her mind. Just as she was about to speak up and clarify her prior statements, a thought struck her like lightning.

“Well, if you put it like that,” the blonde started, but the look on Hinata’s face had her quickly eating her words. “I mean _no_! Hey, Hinata, that was a joke! Come on, don’t cry!”

“Ino-chan, don’t be so mean!” Hinata whined as she furiously rubbed her eyes. Ino simply chuckled and continued mumbling out apologies. “Alright, alright. I apologize. Come on, I didn't think you'd cry over your best friend liking Naruto."

"It's not that! I just..." Hinata trailed off, unsure of what she had been upset about. Ino only laughed and shook her head, reassuring Hinata that she had nothing to worry about and that it had all been a misplaced joke on her end.

“Inuzuka Kiba from the yellow team and Uzumaki Naruto from the red team are practically head-to-head! It’s a heated battle for the first runner up and they’re both slowly closing in on green team’s Kobayashi Miya! Will she continue to keep her distance and maintain the lead as she finishes this lap?” The commentator and the entire audience of the mixed relay were as fired up as the runners themselves. The heat of the day sizzled with the fiery competition of the event.

Hinata watched, her hands tightly clasped in front of her chest as Kiba and Naruto ran side by side. Her breath was held. Naruto’s teammate had passed the baton earlier than Aiko had passed the baton to Kiba, but the Inuzuka had made incredible progress in cutting their distance short in just a matter of sprints. Now, they were both trying to get a final spurt of strength to outrun each other and the current lead, the green team.

“Oh, what’s this? We have an underdog, ladies and gentlemen! Uchiha Sasuke from the blue team is like a lightning bolt ready to overtake our current runner—”

“Like hell you are!” Kiba exclaimed. With a growl he advanced further ahead, leaving Naruto cursing and overtook the struggling brunette of the green team.

“He overtakes Kobayashi Miya! This is the last station approaching! The runners in line to finish this heated relay are Rock Lee from the red team, Hyuga Neji from the blue team, Suzui Inoue from the green team, and Tenten from the yellow team!” With each name being called, the respective teams let out their loudest cheers. The said runners were already in their starting positions, ready for the baton pass and to sprint their way to victory.

“Kiba-kun!” Hinata cheered in unbridled excitement. Her eyes were filled with amazement as Kiba continued sprinting harder.

“Man, they’re no joke,” Ino commented as she watched in astonishment. She crossed her arms over her chest and brought a hand to her forehead as she asked herself, “Are they really inhumanely fast or have I just been hanging out with Shikamaru who moves like a sloth for too long?”

“The yellow team is the first to make the pass! There goes Tenten! Red team and blue team are not far behind! It seems as though Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto passed their batons at the same time! And there go the runners for the red and blue team! Suzui Inoue has also joined the last leg of this relay!” At the onset of the last leg of the race, the audience cheered louder than before, fueling the runners’ adrenaline and drive even more.

“The four teams are fighting tooth and nail to get a stable lead from the rest but the leads keep on changing!”

“Lee-senpai, you can do it-dattebayo!” Naruto yelled. Lee practically shone as he gave a quick thumbs up and a dazzling smile. Just then—

“Oh! Rock Lee of the red team as dropped the baton! And he’s back, but he’s lagging! Can the red team regain their standing? Meanwhile back at the leading runners, Hyuga Neji and Tenten are head to head! Tenten has done well to keep the lead so far but Hyuga Neji is not giving up on overtaking!” As they approached the finish line, everyone held their breaths. Loud cheers erupted from both the blue and yellow team before the uproar dissipated into pin-drop silence. Tenten and Neji had crossed the finish line simultaneously and everyone watched with bated breath as the results were deliberated.

“EH?” The commentator’s mic was turned off as Gai and Kakashi made their way to him. They called over the operators of the cameras by the finish line and reviewed the tape.

“Oi,” Tenten panted as she bent over to catch her breath. Neji panted beside her and looked her way, acknowledging her. “You did it on purpose?”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Irked, Tenten approached him, her fist raised.

“VICTORY GOES TO THE YELLOW TEAM! Tenten takes the lead and crosses the finish line 0.28 seconds before Hyuga Neji!” The crowd erupted once again in cheers and applause. Balloons, headbands, water bottles, and random pieces of paper were thrown into the air--in exhilaration and frustration. Tenten glared at Neji as she was pulled by her teammates away to celebrate their victory.

The Hyuga simply maintained his composure and shrugged, flicking a stray strand of brown hair from his face. “I was tired from the men’s relay.”

“Hinata, did you see that? I totally outran them!” Kiba blurted excitedly. The said girl nodded as she patted his head. Shino nodded in approval from beside them. “Your last minute burst sure helped Tenten-senpai and the team to maintain that lead. Neji-senpai is no joke to run against, I can tell.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to be the last runner,” Kiba shuddered. “I would’ve been completely trampled by your cousin, Hime.”

Hinata laughed.

“I’m sure you can hold your ground against Nii-san, Kiba-kun,” she reassured and he grinned brilliantly at that. She held up three bento boxes stacked and neatly wrapped in regal-looking _furoshiki_. “Let’s eat?”

Shino and Kiba simultaneously blushed at the sweet gesture of their friend. “You didn’t have to, Hinata!”

“Nonsense! Come, Ino-chan saved us a spot to eat for lunch!” Kiba hugged their luxurious lunch to his chest as Hinata pulled him and Shino to the said blonde. She sat with Choji, Shikamaru, and Naruto under the shade of one of the many trees of the school. Three large picnic blankets were laid out to accommodate their large group and lunchboxes were already set before them.

Kiba held back a grin as she saw Hinata blush terribly at the sight of Naruto. To save her from starving herself, the brunette made sure that they were far enough apart and not directly across from each other. He knew that Hinata would barely eat, even though she already ate like a bird, in the presence of the Uzumaki.

“Who else are we waiting for?” Ino asked as she shook Shikamaru awake. The sleeping lad groggily opened his eyes and grumbled but sat up and scooted over.

“We’re here!” Sakura came, pulling a poker-faced Sai by the wrist. He greeted the lot with a practised smile and sat on the space beside Shino. Sasuke trailed behind the two and joined the group as well.

“Alright. It’s been a rough morning, so let’s enjoy lunch-ttebayo!” Naruto declared, already holding up his bento.

“ _Itadakimasu_!” came the chorus of everyone before they started digging in.

“ _Uwoh_! Why do your lunches look so good and the same?” Naruto asked as he stared at Shino, Hinata, and Kiba’s lunch.

“Hinata made them for us,” Shino replied curtly before going back to minding his own business.

“Lucky! It looks so good!”

“Hinata’s a really good cook, you know,” Sakura boasted proudly, making the Hyuga shake her head in embarrassment and hold up her hands as if to reject the praise. “I, I simply enjoy it and I’m glad that I am able to produce pleasant results.”

“Hinata-chan’s cooking is really good!” Choji chimed in through a mouthful of food. He held out a confident thumbs-up, and as if to second the statement, Shikamaru and Ino nodded in unison to back him up. Hinata burned a brighter red at the continuous flow of praise from her friends.

“I wanna taste!” Naruto asserted, leaning over to Kiba.

“No way! Get your own Hinata-bento!” He turned away from Naruto and started shovelling the food into his mouth. Naruto turned to Shino. He was too late, Shino’s bento box was spotless. Almost crying he turned helplessly to Hinata who was frazzled.

“I, um, they, er, I could make you one some time!” She uttered suddenly. As if a switch was flipped, Naruto was smiling again, grinning even.

“Really? Thanks, Hinata! You’re the best-dattebayo!”

As the blond continued to have his lunch, he failed to notice Hinata overheating and Kiba fanning her to keep her from fainting.

\---

Ino tightened the green bandana tied around her arm. She smiled wide for the camera, holding up the gold medal that hung around her neck. She gave a polite bow after the picture-taking and jogged away from the crowd, making her way back to the medical tent.

“Congratulations, Ino-chan,” Hinata greeted, smiling. She mirrored the girl’s smile as she pulled the medal off her.

“Thanks, Hinata.”

Two figures approached the tent as Hinata and Ino tidied up their stations. Ino looked up to see Shikamaru and Choji coming her way and she waved enthusiastically.

“Good job on the high jump,” Shikamaru commended, meeting her with a fist bump.

“Yeah, it was really cool to watch you,” Choji said, giving her a fist bump of his own.

“Thanks, you guys! And thanks to me, there’s another gold medal for the green team!”

As she said that, she picked up the said medal from where she had left it and handed it to Choji.

“Hey, let’s get some ramen later to celebrate, my treat!” Shikamaru let out a whistle with his eyebrows raised at Ino’s statement and nodded. It was not every day that she invited them out to eat. Usually, she’d invite them out to accompany her to shop if Sakura or Hinata were unavailable.

For some reason, although it was not the closest ramen shop from Konoha Gakuen, _Ichiraku Ramen_ was their go-to when it came to dining establishments. It had a homey-ness to it that made customers feel welcome and the food was amazing to boot. Ino had taken a part-time serving job at Ichiraku Ramen for a month the previous summer to save up for a gift for Sakura’s birthday. It provided her with the social interaction and productivity she needed to not feel so stagnant, as well as the funds to buy a gift for her best friend.

“It’s set then! Ichiraku Ramen after dismissal!” Choji cheered.

\---

“Ah! _Atsui_!” Ino stuck out her tongue, sulking. She was in such a hurry to eat that she scalded herself. Teuchi, the ‘Ramen Guy’ as he was popularly known, gave a boisterous laugh.

“Careful there, little lady. The ramen’s not going to run away from you!”

She pouted and blew on the broth. From beside her, Shikamaru wordlessly held out a napkin. She took it and wiped her chin and the spilt broth on the table.

She looked up and over Choji’s shoulder as she heard a familiar voice.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sai entered the ramen shop at that moment. Naruto was chatting idly with Sakura while Sai walked beside them, looking around. Ino’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as she saw Sai and Shikamaru’s sharp eyes did not leave her reaction unnoticed.

Sai quickly grabbed Naruto’s arm before he was pulled by Sakura to the counter to order. “Ack! What, what is it-ttebayo?”

The paler man pointed at Ino’s direction. “Empty seats over there.”

“Oh! Oh hey, it’s Shikamaru! Sakura-chan, Sai found us seats over there,” he called out to Sakura. She gave a nod, not bothering to look and continue to order. “Oi, Naruto, come over here a second, help me get the food to the table.”

He followed her as Sai made his way to the table behind the one occupied by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Ino’s cyan orbs followed him and she turned her head to greet Sai as he sat down.

“Hi,” she smiled. He glanced over at her and a large smile pulled at his cheeks. “Hello.”

Unnerved by his automatic and robotic response, Ino turned back to her food.

\---

“Why is the sports festival already done?” Kiba whined, his face resting on his desk. “Can’t sensei be a little more considerate?”

“Considerate of what?” Hinata asked, looking back to him.

“He stayed up all night to finish the assignment,” Shino answered for the disheartened young man.

“I seriously thought that Kabuto-sensei would postpone the deadline.”

“At least you finished it,” Hinata tried to console. She patted his shoulder and he nodded, as much as he could with his face pressed against his desk.

“The school year’s barely begun and I’m already exhausted. I can’t wait for this week to end,” he grumbled miserably. He had poured his all in the sports festival and had pushed his assignments back to make room for training his physique and psyche for the said event. Now that the excitement had died down and the competitions were over, he felt himself catapulted back into the world of the academe.

“Hime, save my soul when I get called for remedial classes again,” he pleaded quietly, already imagining the low grade he would receive. The year prior, thanks to Hinata’s tutoring, he managed to salvage his grades and only had to be in the afterschool remedial classes for one semester. It had impacted his club training in the afternoon, being a part of the school’s soccer team, and he worked harder in order to get out of the dreaded afterschool classes.

“We don’t know if you’ll be part of it, Kiba-kun. Cheer up. You’ve been doing fairly well in the class.”

“You think so?” He lifted his head slightly to look at her. His brows were furrowed with unease. Smiling softly, she gave a firm nod his way. “Of course.”

“ _Yosh_! I should keep doing my best then!” He cheered, already revitalized.

“Doing your best does not include postponing assignments until the last minute,” Shino quipped, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“ _Urk_! Dude, give me some support here!” He punched his best friend lightly in the arm. Shino had always been the independent, self-sufficient man of the group. Whereas Hinata and Kiba supported each other and Shino in more direct and plain-to-see ways, he would take his time encouraging his friends and would be in the sideline, watching and motivating them as they overcame their own uncertainties and conquer their self-doubt. He would not take credit for half of the effort that he put into helping them, but they knew that he was content and happy in their happiness and that he would have their backs, in his own pace and in his own way.

In the past year, as Hinata was mentoring Kiba in Science, Shino was the one to create the mock tests for him and he was nothing short of brutal. Fortunately, whether it turned out for better or for worse, Kiba managed to be fired up and productive in reviewing for his exams during that semester, his fear of having to go through another of Shino’s mock examinations scarring his pride enough.

The three complemented one another in ways they had not found with others. Kiba felt grateful to have great friends by his side who had his back anytime.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We can never get enough Hyuga Neji. Say it with me.

Neji slipped his books into his bag, preparing to leave for his club. He was part of the Broadcasting Club, the cultural club he had been a part of all-throughout his high school days. In his earlier years, he was part of the writing team, in charge of gathering information for the articles and segments that his seniors would be relaying to the rest of the student body.

Their club worked in tandem with the Newspaper Club. More often than not, the writers and field journalists from both clubs would partner together to collect information about a certain event or other happenings in the school. The Broadcasting Club was in charge of the more mundane, day-to-day occurrences within the campus; announcing what the lunch menu was for the next day, locating missing _kouhai_ or _senpai_ during club time, escapees who refuse to cooperate in their cleaning duties, getting hold of teachers and other faculty members, announcing the usual lost-and-found, and other related happenings; the Newspaper Club was in charge of the larger events; they documented school activities, interviewed prominent students, and wrote up articles that promoted and featured the diverse culture of the school in their semestral publications.

In his Second Year, there was an alarming dwindling in the number of students who joined the Broadcasting Club. From their usual number of four writers that consisted of the first-year and second-year students and three primary broadcasters that were the seniors, they were left with five writers, two freshmen and three juniors, and no primary broadcaster.

Neji, being voted as the club President, was the one who took the role of being the primary broadcaster, with his fellow second-year students choosing to remain the creative writers and main drivers of their broadcasting content, and the first years choosing to let him take the reins as they figured out the club and its works in their own pace.

His soft, solemn voice was a stark difference from the lively, three-person chatter of his graduated predecessors but it was a welcomed change. A shocking spike occurred the next year as they recruited for the club. In the sea of faces was a sizeable number of girls wanting to join, if only to witness the face behind the voice that kept their spirits ablaze after the bell rang signalling the end of the school day; and hardly any boys, if only to boost their popularity as they joined their senpai who was practically a living legend in their small world of high school.

The multitude of students who wanted to join the club only for trivial reasons unnerved the Hyuga. He believed that the club that one chose to stay and participate in should be where one’s passion and interest truly lay. After a gruelling and brutal selection process that sieved through the mass of applicants, only five worthy souls made it through. They were hand-picked and carefully chosen by the existing members, the two now-senior writers, Neji, and the two now-junior writers.

They decided to create two pairs of broadcasters and two teams of three writers, summing up their entire club population from five to ten. Neji would be partnered with one of his _kouhai_ , selected to be a broadcaster, and they would be in charge of the broadcasts on Tuesday and Thursday. Another senior and a junior would take charge of broadcasting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Walking into the room that held the broadcast station of the school, he set his bag on one of the chairs and picked up the typescript prepared by the writers. They usually drop off the afternoon’s typescript during lunch. From 3:30 pm to five or six o’clock in the evening, one team of the writers would be around the campus, collecting more content for the day’s broadcast and returning once they had collected enough, while the other team would be in the adjacent room to the broadcast station, creating the typescript for the day’s special segments.

On May, their theme was being ‘free’ and finding one’s potential. Their broadcasts around campus relayed heavily on the theme of the month. During this time of spring, after a few songs played to set the mood, the broadcasters would start a forty-minute talk session that consisted of students’ goals and their self-doubt and anxieties over their future. The club had a small box set outside their official room that students were free to drop their questions or answers or daily ponderings in anonymously. The theme would be updated on the box, to prompt the students to submit appropriate and theme-related thoughts. These little slips of paper were what constituted the flow of the forty-minute talk session of the broadcasters.

Neji went back outside to collect five of those papers, slipping his hand into the large box and randomly plucking out the slips of paper before making his way into the sound booth. He started playing the music they had already picked out and looked through the submissions he had acquired.

\---

Neji opened his door, surprised to see his cousin standing there. It was already past eleven in the evening and he was about to get ready to sleep.

“Hinata-sama,” he greeted.

“ _Konbanwa_ ,” she greeted back, bowing politely.

“Is something the matter?” he asked, stepping aside to let her in. She made her way inside, thanking him and held out a textbook.

“I need help,” she meekly replied. He blinked at the science textbook she was showing him. He nodded and unfolded a spare chair, setting it next to his desk chair, and taking a seat. Motioning for her to follow, she made her way to his desk and sat in his chair.

She skimmed through the many tabs stuck onto the pages of the book and flipped it open to the chapter she had been reviewing. Her book was filled with annotations in sticky notes. Neji reached over to the small bookshelf in his room and pulled out his old science textbook, the same one she had and opened it to the same page. He too had similarly packed pages with a good deal of page tabs and sticky note annotations.

“ _Hajimemashou_.”

The old clock in the living room of the large house struck twelve and its soft dongs in the distance was heard in the silence of the night.

“Thank you very much, Nii-san. I apologize for troubling you so late,” she bowed once again. Fatigue was evident in both their eyes but he simply shook his head, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“ _Watashiniha mondaiarimasen_ ,” he replied softly. She nodded and thanked him once more before she left.

As Hinata left the room, she hugged the book tighter to her chest. Anxiety was bubbling in her chest as she made her way to her bedroom. They had a long test scheduled later in the day and she had been reviewing the material for already three days. She sighed, her frustration not leaving her.

All her life, her father had meticulously planned out her studies. She had joined science competitions, nationally and abroad, she had participated in science camps, she had been in almost anything related to science ever since she could remember.

In her earlier years, she was frightened at the disappointment her father did not bother to hide when she failed to pass the acceleration examination to boost her academically and have her be in the same class as her older cousin.

It was evident, from the main family to the rest of the branches of the extensive Hyuga clan, that Hinata was not the exemplary child her father had wanted. She continued to struggle in gaining her father’s favour, whose eyes and efforts had shifted towards her younger sister Hanabi. Although she understood that she was her own person and that she did not need to beg for her father’s acceptance, she yearned to see the pride in his eyes at her accomplishments.

Despite not being the favoured daughter, Hisashi has set in stone that his firstborn would be a doctor and continue in their family’s footsteps.

It was not a difficult decision to make for Hinata. Whether it was because of her already-profound comprehension and learning in science, or her particular interest in the said field of education, she wanted to be a doctor. It was where her passions lie.

She still felt the anxiety well inside her, however. She wondered if it was her father and her clan's pressuring expectations that made it hard for her to breathe, let alone study--or if it was her own expectations of herself.

\---

The bell rang, signalling the end of their Social Studies class, Kurenai walking out not a minute sooner. She was always a stickler for being punctual. Asuma, on the other hand, always managed to drop in five to fifteen minutes late in his classes—there was no in-between.

During the time that the students were waiting for their Mathematics teacher, Kabuto popped in to return their quiz booklets that he had finished correcting.

Ino did the honours of distributing the booklets, mischievously sneaking a peek at Shikamaru and Sakura’s booklets, much to her friends’ disapproval. Discreetly, she even peeked at Sasuke and Sai’s booklets, not that either of the boys was paying attention to her.

She cheered in her head as she saw the satisfying grade on her quiz. As if to reprimand her unruly behaviour, Shikamaru stuck a foot out, effectively making her trip. He nonchalantly looked away once she caught herself and sent a burning glare his way.

“ _Shika-baka_ ,” she snarled under her breath.

He spared her a glance and feigned horror. “ _Akuma no on’na_.”

She quickly fixed her appearance, plastering a friendly smile on her face as she noticed that he had deliberately made her trip next to Sai’s desk.

“Here you go,” she chirped, setting his booklet down. He looked at her and returned her friendly smile with a curt, “Thank you.”

She finally returned to her seat, reaching beside her to hand Sakura her booklet.

The light-haired girl quickly snatched the booklet from Ino’s hands, flipping it open.

“Forty-seven point five?” she muttered in disbelief. “Where did the other point-five even go?”

She questioned her teacher’s method of checking their quizzes and quickly tore out a small memo paper from her pad. She scribbled into it madly and passed it to Ino.

_Did you see the other scores?_

Ino could barely understand Sakura’s frantic handwriting but nodded nonetheless. Motioning to the paper with her eyes, Ino quickly jotted down the scores she had glanced. She handed Sakura back the little paper and the latter’s eyes scanned it.

**Shika-baka** 49

 **Sasuke-kun <3 **49.5

 **Sai <3 **47

Sakura twitched at the little hearts Ino had doodled beside Sasuke and Sai’s names but paled at the sight of their scores. Ino subtly looked over at her friend. As friendly and approachable as Sakura was, her competitive nature was nothing to laugh at.

Her parents had never pressured her to excel in her academics, but Ino noticed a twinge of self-doubt that always lingered around Sakura. She could tell that in Sakura’s eyes, she was always still lacking, still inadequate.

She looked back down at her open quiz booklet. Forty-five points. Suddenly the satisfaction she had felt upon first seeing her score seemed to crumble. Maybe cancelling the study group had not been her best idea.

\---

“ _Sugoi_!”

“ _Yosō-dōri_.”

Hinata blushed at her friends’ praise. She had gotten forty-nine points on the long test she had dreaded earlier that week. She graced them with a grateful smile.

As she looked down at her paper, a small breath of frustration left her.

 _Just one point more and it should have been perfect_.

\---

Sai quietly made his way to his seat. Fishing out the light novel in his bag, he opened it to the bookmarked page. He tuned the world out as he started reading.

His seat was right behind Ino’s, something she was very happy about. It made it easier for her to flaunt herself, but it made no difference to the pale-skinned male. His mind was wrapped around getting used to the new environment of his school. Although being a transferee in his freshman year, he still felt as though he was an awkward fit even as he was in his second year of high school.

“ _Ohayo_ ,” Ino greeted as she arrived at the door. Making her way to her seat, she repeated her greeting, now livelier than the previous. “Ohayo, Sai-kun.”

He looked up at her.

“Just ‘Sai’ is alright,” he replied. Smiling, Ino nodded and took her seat. A while later, Sakura entered the room and the two girls started their usual morning chat.

As the bell for lunch rang, Sai got up and made his way out the door. He walked swiftly down the hall, his strides sure. He made his way to the vending machines near the entrance to the cafeteria and bought three separate packaged _shokupan_.

“Sai!” He heard a familiar voice call. Turning towards it, he greeted Naruto with a plastered smile.

“Is that all you’re eating?” The blond asked, eyeing the bread in his hands. Sai nodded curtly.

“You’re a growing boy! You shouldn’t torment your stomach like that-ttebayo!” Naruto exclaimed. He grabbed Sai’s wrist and started pulling him towards the cafeteria.

“Why are you taking me here?” He questioned, following his friend’s quick steps. They stopped in front of the counter and the Uzumaki pointed at the lunch menu.

 _“Mite_.”

His dark eyes scanned over the menu. In his mind, he heard the deep voice of Hyuga Neji.

**Lunch A**

Roast pork in onion sauce, mixed salad with _shirasu_ , rice, Nara-style vegetable _miso_ , and milk. Seven hundred and sixty-eight calories.

**Lunch B**

_Hoki_ , mixed vegetables, rice, potato _miso_ , milk, and _nato_. Seven hundred and sixty-one calories.

**Lunch C**

_Oden_ , dried squid and cabbage, Shiso-seasoned rice, tofu _miso_ , and milk. Six hundred and forty-four calories.

_“Sate_ , which one are you getting?”

“In that case, Lunch C, _onegaishimasu_.”

“I’ll be having Lunch A-dattebayo.”

There was a pregnant pause as the two continued staring at the flashed menu, before black eyes slowly met brilliant blues.

“Eh?” Naruto looked like the epitome of confusion.

“Eh?” Sai tilted his head as he motioned toward the lunch menu. “I thought you were going to buy me lunch. Am I mistaken?”

Naruto’s stomach grumbled in hunger.

“I thought _you_ were gonna buy me lunch!”

The two boys sighed as they looked at the bread still in Sai’s hands.

“Then, we could share this.”

“ _Un_. I’ll buy us some milk-ttebayo.”

\---

Tenten hurriedly made her way to the Broadcasting Club’s room. She slid the door open with more force than she had intended and almost collided head-on with a second-year writer, taking her leave.

“Ah! _Gomen_!” She quickly bowed and stepped aside. The younger girl bowed timidly before walking past her and down the hall.

“Neji!” Tenten called, spotting her friend on the far side of the club room, reading through the text script they had used for the day. The writers were packing their bags, some already out the door, while the broadcasters chatted in the sound booth. Neji put the text script away and picked up his bag.

“ _Minasan, otsukaresamadeshita_. I’ll be leaving.”

“Careful on your way, _Kaichou_ ,” the rest of the room politely greeted back. He gave them a curt bow and slid the door closed. Turning to his companion, he motioned toward the other end of the hallway.

“Let’s?”

She nodded and quickly walked, making him follow.

“What is this about?”

“You remember that manga I told you about?” She asked him. They powerwalked in silence out of the school minutes later.

“I don’t.”

“ _Urk_! Is that why you’ve been quiet? I thought you understood!” She quickly grabbed her phone from her pocket. Before he could reprimand her for bringing the device to school, she shoved it into his face. The lock screen was the cover photo for the latest action manga she had been reading.

“They drop the latest volume today and they say there are limited edition signed copies!”

He squinted to focus on the screen in front of him. He grunted.

“What is it with you and limited edition things?”

“Oh, hush! Anyway, they start selling those copies at 6:30 this evening so we have to hurry!” She rushed.

“They set a time for that?” He almost laughed at the incredulous circumstances. Why was everything timed so conveniently?

“Stop asking questions! I brought you along because I can’t miss out on those signed copies. As soon as we get into the bookstore, make sure to grab at least three mangas, alright? Look through them all until you find a signed copy and bring it to the counter!”

“Money first, business later,” he held out his hand. Irritated, she slapped his hand down.

“I’ll pay you back!”

His brow twitched but he huffed and said nothing more, continuing to walk briskly by her side.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Why am I getting nervous?” They approached the large open doorway of the bookstore.

“Onwards, soldier!”

Stacks upon stacks of the manga were displayed in the front and centre of the store. A sea of people was already crowding the towers of books.

Tenten looked at the digital clock displayed on her lock screen. It read 18:34.

“ _Shimatta_!” She cursed under her breath. Nevertheless, she and Neji parted ways to brave through the mess of limbs and the cacophony of voices.

She could hear the triumphant cheers of other shoppers as they found the book they wanted. She had no time to inspect whether they had found a signed copy or a copy at all.

She tried to look for her friend’s long brown hair amid the chaos but he must have dived further than she had. She could not spot him at all. Understanding that he was doing what he could, she braced herself before fighting to get a hold of a book. She had no choice if he was giving it his best shot. It would be a disgrace if she did not do the same.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He grumbled.

Neji and Tenten stood in a face-off outside the bookstore. They had stumbled out at the same time, paper bags in their hands. The girl pointed at the paper bag clutched in his hands.

“Signed?”

He held it out for her to take.

“Signed.” He put his hands on his hips after she seized the package from him.

“So, what is that?” He eyed the other paper bag she held to her chest. “Don’t tell me you bought the same book. After the trouble that I had to go through?”

She gave him a sheepish grin.

“Exactly! Which is why I grabbed a copy of the latest volume of _another_ manga I read.”

“Tenten!”

“Mercy!”

“Get back here and pay me back!”

“I’ve already spent two months worth of my allowance on this!” She held up both paper bags as she ran away from the Hyuga chasing her.

\---

“Nii-san,” Hinata laughed as she opened the front door for him. His hair was unruly, his uniform shirt was untucked, and he was huffing and panting.

“Excuse my appearance,” he quietly mumbled. “I was almost swindled by a witch.”

Hinata freaked out for a second before she closed the front door and looked at his disappearing form heading towards his bedroom.

“Wasn’t he with Tenten-san though?” she asked herself, confused.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, the drafts of the chapters of this book was wiped clean from my laptop because I didn't think to back them up. I have decided, therefore, to reshape this book's plot and tweak a few things here and there in the chapters that I have already inputted here in AO3 (chapters awaiting to be published).
> 
> When this book was ongoing in Wattpad, I did feel that there were some parts that just droned and dragged on. Neither did I feel satisfied because there were other parts that just didn't seem to fit and were only highlighted as out of place. I think I'm still going with the original plot, but I will be editing a couple of things, without changing the foundations of the story.
> 
> Comments and insights on the chapters are really appreciated. It'd be my pleasure to work on this book with all of you guys!

**First Semester Final Examinations**

“Done!” Naruto groaned as he slumped in his seat after submitting his test paper. The class had an air of tension and nervousness that hung like heavy storm clouds above the students' heads. The only sound accompanying the strained silence was the rustling of paper as test papers and answer sheets were passed from left to right and from the back of the classroom to the front, and into the proctor's hands.

 _Sakura-chan, thank you_! Naruto exclaimed in his head, making a fist. He would very much like to believe that their study group session the weekend prior helped him go through the test faster. He only hoped it was true. He slowly melted into his desk, his arms outstretched and his head in between them. He turned to his side and towards his seatmate, Hinata.

She looked calm and collected but her eyes looked more frozen than tranquil. From behind her, Kiba had his chin on his desk with his arms outstretched just like Naruto. Kiba's fingers were tapping incessantly on the back of Hinata's chair.

“How did you do?” He asked noncommittally. She seemed to seemingly snap out of her trance at his question. She ducked her head and looked at her lap.

“I did what I could,” she mumbled. Naruto frowned at her response. He understood that Hinata was human and that she could also encounter things she could not readily solve, but he had also witnessed her excel. A lot. She was what people would call a model student, although perhaps not as much as her older cousin. Nonetheless, she was the paragon of diligence. She was the most reliable person in the class, in Naruto's opinion. He wondered if he could say anything to dispel any doubts of her own brilliance that she harbored inside her.

“I’m sure you aced it-ttebayo!” He encouraged, sending a bright grin her way. Her look of surprise was immediately directed towards him, Kiba's tapping fingers stopping at the abrupt intrusion in their conversation.

Naruto quickly sat upright. “Ah! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop and butt in! But I’m pretty sure you’ll get the results you worked for. You’ve put so much effort into it-dattebayo.”

A look of amazement passed in her face before she smiled brightly at him, nodding.

“ _Arigatougozaimashita_!"

Naruto grinned back, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his chair. He was satisfied to see her smile so warmly. He hoped that he calmed her nerves, even just a little. As he turned his head to the other side of the room, quietly whistling a random tune, Kiba's keen eyes did not miss the way Hinata's shoulders trembled in excitement.

He only sighed to himself. The anxiety of the test was getting on his nerves as well, but Hinata's heart fluttering at Naruto's encouragement only seemed to disturb him even further.

\---

“I’m starving,” Kiba grumbled as he, Hinata, and Shino walked toward the school gates. Shino grumbled in agreement.

“Hinata!” Ino’s voice caught the attention of the trio. They looked towards Ino who was standing with her classmates and Naruto.

“Come to the mall with us!” The girl jogged over to her and held out a hand.

“It’ll be fun!” She heard Sakura support from afar. Hinata paused, gripping the strap of her bag tighter in her hand. Her eyes shifted from Ino who was in front of her, to Sakura a little ways away, standing with who Hinata can only assume will be their companions. Naruto was standing with Sai and animatedly talking to the boy, while Shikamaru looked like he wanted nothing more than to not be there but who was nonetheless still hanging around, hand shoved in his pockets and kicking a random pebble on the ground.

“I guess I don’t have any plans tonight,” she was cut off by Ino’s triumphant grin. “Great!”

“Kiba-kun, Shino, would you like to come?” She turned to her companions, only to realize that Shino had already left them. “Eh?”

Kiba only shrugged, motioning towards the gate where Shino had briskly walked over to. The bespectacled boy turned to quickly wave at his friends before disappearing on his way home. Hinata sighed as she watched him leave. She turned to Kiba and looked at him expectantly, waiting for a response.

“I’ll go,” Kiba nodded. He grinned reassuringly when she looked visibly relieved that he would join them. He draped an arm around her as Ino cheered and led them back to Sakura and the others.

"I wouldn't miss you fawning over Naruto for the world," he teasingly snickered in her ear, earning him a swift jab to his side as Hinata elbowed him with a frown. He groaned and rubbed where she had hit him, retracting his arm from her shoulders and wrapping both limbs around his midsection.

“We should watch a movie,” Sakura mumbled as they walked. She had her fingers intertwined with Ino's and the two girls were swinging their clasped hands to and fro between them.

“Make sure Ino doesn’t pick, she always goes for the boring ones.”

“What was that, you moron?” The said girl hit Shikamaru’s arm as she glared at him. His lips were upturned in a sly smirk as he shrugged.

“How about the new horror movie?” Sai suggested randomly.

“Oh! I’ve wanted to watch that!” Ino seconded.

“The ratings weren’t very good though,” Kiba noted. Ino pouted.

Silence enveloped the group. They had plenty of time to think as they continued walking, the sunset basking them in a warm orange glow.

“ _Ano_ , Tenten-senpai recommended a movie recently. It’s the recently-released action movie. Lee-senpai and Nii-san said it was good,” Hinata quietly suggested. Her friends perked up at the suggestion.

“Sounds good!” Kiba and Naruto simultaneously agreed.

Clearing his throat, Kiba crossed his arms across himself while Naruto scratched his head and looked to the side to play off the awkwardness.

“It’s settled then,” Shikamaru said, not understanding the mood.

\---

“We’ll meet you back here in an hour and a half,” Kiba told Sakura’s group, waving the two movie tickets that were his and Hinata's. "We'll be in the arcade to kill some time."

“Let me come with you,” Shikamaru stated before Ino pulled him back to her, her grip like a vice on his wrist as she gave him a cutesy smile. “Don’t leave me behind, Shikamaru.”

Sakura looked between the two before discreetly looking at her companions, Sai and Naruto. The gears in her head started turning and she waved her hand as if to dismiss Shikamaru, much to the boy's surprise.

“Let him be,” she told Ino.

“Here,” she pushed Sai lightly to make him step forward. “Sai will accompany you. I’ll go with Naruto.”

Ino looked confused at her friend’s uncharacteristic suggestion. She titled her head and was about to speak before Naruto beat her to it.

“I want to go to the arcade with Kiba and Hinata-ttebayo!” he interjected, stepping towards the other two. Hinata averted her eyes from his bright smile. 

“ _Sate_ ,” Ino pushed Shikamaru none too gently towards Sakura. “That leaves you with Shika-baka.”

Wanting to not be involved in the mayhem already brewing in the air at the sight of Sakura's incredulous look, Kiba dragged Naruto and Hinata away with him. “ _Ja, matane_!”

“Oi!” Sakura called out. She sighed as the three were quickly out of earshot. Grumbling, she looked towards Ino who was already happily chatting to Sai, starting a jolly one-sided conversation. She looked to her side at Shikamaru. He had his hands in his pockets, looking away from her, already looking exhausted.

 _Curse you, Ino. I help you out and this is how you repay my kindness?_ she grumbled in her mind.

“ _Sa_ ,” she started awkwardly, pointing to the numerous stores in the mall. “ _Iki, ikimashou_?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys prefer having a short summary for each chapter, or it's alright that there's none

“Uchiha Sasuke,” Kakashi drawled, holding out his test paper. The male stood from his seat and made his way to his teacher.

“Haruno Sakura.” Sakura took her paper and returned to her seat, her eyes frantically scanning for her score.

“Yamanaka Ino,” he held out her paper.

“ _Hai_ ,” she cheerfully made her way to his desk to grab her paper. Just as her hand was about to make contact with her test papers, Kakashi swiped it out of her reach. She blinked at him, confused.

“ _Sensei_?” She could almost make out a smile behind his mask.

“You did good,” he praised softly before he handed her back her test paper. She beamed at him before returning to her seat. Kakashi continued to call his students over, handing them back their final papers, all corrected and marked with ink.

“Inuzuka Kiba-kun,” Kurenai called. She handed him his paper as he came forward. “Good job.”

The boy bowed at the praise.

“Uzumaki Naruto-kun,” Naruto stepped forward. “Good job.”

“Woah!” He exclaimed as he saw the marks he acquired. Meeting Kiba, he grinned and shared a fist bump, proud of their improvement.

“Tenten,” Gai called. She quickly made her way to his table. He handed her the test paper she had been dreading to look at.

“Distracted?” He asked her, referring to the marks she had scored, lower than usual. She gave him a sheepish smile.

“Guilty as charged,” she admitted. “I’ll do better, Sensei.”

His teeth glinted as he grinned and gave her a thumbs up. “I’m counting on it!”

“Now,” Asuma brought his hands together. “Congratulations on completing this year’s first semester. Don’t forget to complete your homework during your break. But overall, get well rested and enjoy your summer vacation!”

The class cheered.

Neji cleared his desk, packing his books into his bag as the bell rang.

“ _Kiritsu_ ,” he instructed.

“ _Rei_.” The students collectively bowed. Asuma bowed in return before he collected his things.

“Enjoy your break and be careful on your way home!”

\---

“Any plans?” Kiba asked as he, Shino, and Hinata walked toward his house. He had invited them over for a relaxed catching up. They had barely seen one another during the hellish weeks before their final exams.

“For summer vacation, I mean,” he clarified.

“I think I’ll attend a science convention with Shikamaru,” Shino said, surprising his friends.

Having Shino go out of his way to attend a convention, even if it was academic, was unspoken of. Moreover, he was to attend with Nara Shikamaru. _The Nara Shikamaru_. His academic prowess was fairly well-known among the students but there was a reason that he did not make any appearances in representing their school for a lot of competitions—he simply could not be bothered to.

“Really?” Kiba asked, dumbfounded. Shino shrugged. “There’s an exhibit that I’m particularly interested in. I don’t know why Shikamaru’s going. It’s a five-day convention a week and a half from today.”

Kiba and Hinata let out a small sound of wonder. They looked at one another and exchanged looks of revelation as they raised their eyebrows at Shino’s summer plans. Shino grumbled about not making it a big deal. Hinata only laughed and told him that it was hard not to make it a big deal when he was rarely ever up for that kind of thing. He could not disagree with her point. The three continued their leisurely pace.

“I’ll be working more shifts at the Pound,” Kiba declared. He stretched his arms and brought them behind his head as he grinned. “Mom promised she’d keep funding my allowance as long as I helped out. How about you, Hime?”

Hinata stopped fiddling with the fishcake keychain on her bag. “I want to study some more.”

“Heh,” he mumbled, kicking a stray pebble. “It's the summer break though. Maybe I should squeeze some studying in too. Mm, on second thought maybe not. No, on third thought,"

“I could help,” Hinata offered. “After your shifts, I could come over and help you study. It could also help me evaluate the things I’ve learned in the day.”

Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and he could not get himself to say no. Inuzuka Kiba was a passionate individual, and granted, although his interests deviated from Hinata's and Shino's, he was never there to extinguish the flame of desire. He was only spurred further when his fiery passion was matched with others' blazing eagerness.

“Oh! Not a bad idea,” he mumbled, putting a hand to his chin. “If I took the morning shifts then you could come around, say around two every afternoon, and teach me, _Hime-sensei_!”

“Kiba-kun, stop with the weird nicknames,” she laughed, the wildly determined look fading from her face. She turned to the boy in the green jacket.

“Shino-kun, after your convention, you could come along, too. Let’s keep in touch this summer.” She smiled at him, her cutesy expression slightly unnerving the bespectacled boy. ‘Unnerving’ was not a usual term to be associated with Hinata, but her tone of voice and the bright smile she paired it with unsettled him. The previous summer vacation as well as the short winter and spring vacations after that, he was MIA, much to his friends’ dismay. The implications behind her words seemed dreadfully serious.

He cleared his throat and gave a quick nod. “I’ll make arrangements.”

“Great! I’ll be in your care then, _Hime-sensei, Megane-sensei_.”

“Kiba, seriously. Stop with the nicknames.”

Hinata covered her mouth she giggled at Shino’s quick retort. The two boys quickly started bickering while she let herself fall a few steps behind, to get away from them.

Following the results of her final exams, she was determined to cram in some more studying. On top of that, she wanted to delve into the topics and discussions they were set to have in the second semester. Although Kiba viewed it as overworking herself and risking burnout, she didn't find her summer plans to be so. Growing up, she had often gone to cram school and spent her free hours studying on her own. It has almost become second nature to her. She didn’t see it as a chore. The results of her efforts for studying for her finals paid off, but she saw room for improvement. She was intent on making sure she used her summer wisely. She wanted to satisfy her academic expectations of herself as well as unwind and get a well-deserved rest with the people she enjoyed the company of.

\---

Ino howled with laughter, almost rolling on the floor.

“That’s a good one, _Oba-san_ ,” she wheezed, slapping Choji’s arm as he sat beside her, laughing as well. Yoshino had just informed Ino and Choji that Shikamaru was to attend a five-day science convention as compensation for evading his summer chores and a newly bought shogi board. He had so often complained about beating his father in the game using the worn-out board they had. He had recently been eyeing a well-kept antique and his mother offered to buy it for him, only if he went to the convention, something she had been nagging him to do. Yoshino was not going to let him waste his summer the same way he always did. At least this time around, he would get something useful out of it.

“To think Shikamaru would go to a convention just to escape chores,” Choji quipped, wiping the tears from his eyes. Shikamaru sat on a lone armchair, sulking.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it out all you want.” He rested his head on his hand as he sighed in exhaustion. “ _Mendoukusei_.”

“I’m just going to rest this summer,” Choji said, popping some chips into his mouth. Ino whined at his uneventful plan. “Remind me to get the summer homework done. I might just forget it again.”

“I’ll hang out with Sakura, then. Maybe we’ll go to the beach,” Ino stated. She twirled her hair around her finger. “I wonder if Sai will be there.”

Shikamaru’s gaze trailed to her. “I bet for five weeks.”

“Eh?” Ino turned to him, confused.

“I bet for this winter,” Choji replied.

“Eh?” she asked again. “What are you two betting on?”

The dark-haired male snickered. He turned his eyes back to the TV screen.

“How long it takes before your little crush for the new kid sizzles out,” he said.

Her brows pulled together, the mockery in his tone putting a bitter taste in his mouth. Ino pouted and threw a cushion at him.

“Don’t be mean!”

“Well it _did_ take her around three years to get over Sasuke,” Choji started.

“Mm, fair point. Still, I bet for five weeks. After that, she’ll realize he’s not a carbon copy of Sasuke and get over him.”

She quickly drew back and sat straight at his words. Ino felt like she had been punched. She glared at both of her friends, her eyes stinging. She hated how she got so emotionally invested that her fury turned into tears. It made her feel frail. Yamanaka Ino was a woman who strived to look and feel anything but frail. She was not a maiden in need of rescuing. Moreover, she was not the type to jump from one person to the next just because they bore a semblance of what she liked. Her standards and her emotions were not set in stone. She was capable of changing. She could be flamboyant but her hobbies did not include flirting. Her friends had clearly crossed a line in mistaking her feelings to be something taken lightly.

She admits that she had been brash and impulsive in the past, especially in the past that involved Sasuke. She had even put her friendship with Sakura on the line for that, but she also believed that she would never let herself invalidate her own emotions. She felt what she felt, and the least her friends could do for her was understand and support her, not berate her for liking someone.

At the sight of her close to tears, Shikamaru quickly threw the cushion that she had hurled at him towards Choji.

“Alright. Kidding aside, why don’t you help me pack my clothes for the convention?”

Choji gave him a weird look. “What?”

Ino sniffled, equally confused.

“What?” She echoed Choji’s question. He rubbed his nape awkwardly, his skin flushing ever so slightly. In his unusual panic, the first thought that entered his mind to appease her mood was clothing. She often chastised his painfully bland taste in clothing and had made comments that she should be the one in charge of his day-to-day outfit choices; hence, his perplexing, poorly-timed offer.

“Well,” Ino started, rubbing her nose. “I guess I wouldn’t want my best friend to look like an absolute goof amid all the other people in that convention. You already look like a sack of potatoes as it is. An unappetizing sack of potatoes.”

He stopped the immediate urge to tell her that a convention was not the place where she’d find people who put all their effort into how they look. He was relieved that she let their little joke slide.

\---

A few days later, Tenten lay exhausted on the wooden floor of the Hyuga compound's dojo.

“Enough for today?” Neji asked as he walked past her, taking a seat in the open doorway. She held a finger up.

“Give me a minute,” she panted. He hummed as he chugged down his water. He slid her water bottle over to her and she grasped it.

Slowly, she sat up and popped it open, her eyes trained on him. The cool water felt wonderful as it flowed down her parched throat. She continued chugging it down as she stared at Neji. He was looking at the small garden of lavenders right outside the dojo, his back turned to her. His hair waved languidly with the calm wind. He pushed the stray strands that stuck to his forehead away but did not bother moving the headband he always wore. He was never seen without it.

He wore a white kimono-shirt with long, loose sleeves and matching pants. His long hair brushed against the floor as he sat, hands on his knees; with his feet dangling off the elevated edge. His pale eyes watched the lavenders swaying with the gentle breeze. He looked most at peace when he was at the dojo, looking out at the garden. He felt most grounded there.

As a child, he found his love for meditation one night after his father was closing up. After the sparring, after the blows of limbs and the cries and bursts of energy, his father told him that it was time to calm the mind and the body. It was misguided to recklessly train well into the evening. One risked the possibility of straining the body and exhausting the mind. At the end of the day, and at the start of the morning, it was ideal to relax and be at peace. After learning the tranquilty of sitting in silence, focusing on one’s thoughts for an amount of time, he had shared it with his cousin and his two closest friends. Hinata had gladly followed him, but Tenten and Lee were too restless to be resting for so long when they itched to keep moving.

Now, Tenten saw the calmness it brought and she had been meditating herself, whenever she remembered to and whenever she felt she needed to control her impulses. She was still in the process of mustering up the courage to ask him once more to guide her in meditating. It was not embarrassing to ask him, but she felt an unusual nervousness to ask him to teach her about something so personal, so intimate, to him.

She loosened the buns that styled her hair and ran her fingers through them as they cascaded down her shoulders. She tugged at the tangles that her fingers came across. The tranquility that followed and wafted around Neji was enchanting. His gaze alone made her feel as though she was standing in a field of flowers.

As if hearing his name being called from the thought of him racing in her mind, he turned to her, their eyes meeting in the silence. She felt her hand stop mid-air from its place in her hair. Gooseflesh erupted along her arms and she shivered but felt herself flush hot at the same time. Her lips remained tightly pressed together as she struggled to will herself to speak.

“What is it?” She finally managed to peep. He had been gazing at her, keeping her frozen under the steadfast watch of his eyes.

“Your hair,” he started. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her.

“It’s a mess.” He finished, the corner of his lip turning up in a humored smile.

She felt herself flush darker. Her eyes darted from the garden outside to the water bottle that lay forgotten at his side to her lap, and to anywhere but his face—his perfect, smiling face.

“I’m trying here, alright?” She retorted, quickly resuming to untangle the messy locks of her brown hair.

He slowly stood from where he sat and made his way to her side, kneeling beside her.

“I’ll help.”

As his fingers reached closer, she pulled back in alarm. Her brows furrowed at him. He looked equally surprised when she pulled away.

“What? Did you not wash your hair?”

“Neji, you say the worst things at the worst times!” She spat.

“I’ll help. Come on, it’s not like I’ve never done it before,” he replied, scooting closer to her and holding her hair. She kept her eyes trained to what lay in front of her.

“Do it right,” she mumbled. He hummed as he ran a finger down her scalp, parting her hair in the middle.

“I’ve done this countless times,” he said. His voice was soft but much more amplified than normal, with him being so close to her.

“When we were kids,” she reminded.

He chuckled.

“When we were kids,” he agreed.


	12. Chapter 12

“ _Ojama shimasu_ ,” Hinata greeted as she walked into Inuzuka Hana’s veterinary clinic. With the jingling of the bell at the door and her soft voice, Kiba looked up from his work at the front desk. As he opened his mouth to greet her, his older sister popped her head from the wall divider that hid the hallway toward her office and her clinic.

“Hinata-chan!” She greeted and quickly welcomed the girl in a tight and warm embrace, the same one Kiba often gives her. Hinata warmly greeted Hana back.

“Did I come too early?” She asked, looking at Kiba after his sister had released her.

“I’m almost done! Nee-chan holed me up here after my shift,” he grumbled.

“Well get to finishing that up so you can go!” Hana barked back before she sent a charming grin to Hinata as she excused herself back into her office.

Hinata took a seat on the chaise longue as she waited. There was only the sound of rustling paper from the front desk, keyboard keys clacking from Hana’s office, and the soft whooshing of the diffuser as it dispersed the refreshing scent of lavender and sandalwood. Kiba continued going through the many forms and papers his sister had given him, organizing them according to the list she had made.

“Help yourself to the candy. They’re newly-replaced,” he grinned, motioning to the glass bowl filled with sweets.

In a few minutes, he finally closed the last folder that he was tasked to organize. He was almost convinced that his sister had left her paperwork in such a disarray to keep him occupied with his job. If that were truly the case, he did not know if he was to thank her because he'd still get paid for his work overtime, or to get mad at her. 

“Nee-chan, I’m done!” He hollered as he put away the folders of paper he had neatly compiled. The folders were heavy and bulging. He made a mental note to remind her to buy better organizing and storage units.

He motioned for Hinata to follow him as she stood from her seat. She placed the magazine she had been absentmindedly browsing back underneath the glass coffee table.

“Let’s head to the back, it’s closer that way,” he said, referring to the clinic’s back exit that led to their family house's yard. As the two passed Hana’s open doorway she waved at Hinata.

“You can take the triplets with you if Kiba does something weird!”

“Nee-chan! You’re still saying that even though Hinata’s been over countless times!”

“Be careful! He still hasn’t gotten over his large, adorable crush,” Kiba shut the door, cutting off her sentence. He quickly ushered his friend down the garden path leading towards the backdoor of their house. From around the corner, Akamaru came bounding up to them, excitedly lapping at Hinata’s hands as she petted him.

“Hello boy,” she smiled, gracing him with more rubs. “Didn’t I already greet you when I came earlier?”

He barked as if to answer her, his demeanour mellowing out. Kiba came forward and patted Akamaru affectionately. “We’ll play with you later, buddy. I’ve got some studying to do.”

Hinata waved as Akamaru leaped away to his earlier playmates, the Three Haimaru Brothers, Hana’s canine companions. She followed Kiba into the house as he called for her to follow.

\---

The minutes quickly melted into a few hours. Kiba and Hinata were on the floor of Kiba’s bedroom, sitting on cushions that he had grabbed from the couch in the living room. A spacious square table with short legs sat in front of them and their papers, books, and notebooks littered it. His bed was right behind them, supporting their backs as they sat. The two sat side by side, Hinata's legs folded under her, and Kiba's legs stretched out with an ankle crossed over the other. Their shoulders touched by how close they were sitting, with Hinata peering carefully at Kiba's paper.

She had the habit of closely observing things, and with how often she had tutored Kiba, he was no longer pressured when she would all but loom over him as he took a mock test. In fact, he had gotten so used to it that he would not even notice when his teachers would look over his paper as he took quizzes and exams in class, something his peers would cower at just the thought of. It would feel like standing under the spotlight with all their flaws out on display. But to him, he did not pay it any mind. And even then, in that moment, he knew that Hinata would never judge him for making mistakes. She gave endless room for him to be himself and not feel judged.

“Hey, I got it right this time!” Kiba cheered as he solved the Physics problem that she had given him.

“Great,” she praised, ruffling his locks. Kiba's eyes met hers and her breath was stolen for a second at the sharpness of his gaze.

“Ah!” She quickly pulled her hand away, apologizing. A few days before he had left for the convention, Shino had told her that Kiba looked like a pup receiving rewards from his human companion whenever she petted him. She did not know if Kiba felt the same way and it seemed to her that she was doing him wrong, treating him like a child instead of her equal. Her friend's impassive observation rang in her mind and she flushed in embarrassment at the awkward silence.

Kiba crossed his arms in front of him and chewed on his lip. He looked off to the side, feigning nonchalance.

“It’s alright,” he said quietly. He maintained a relatively calm expression, but the rosy pink that captured the tips of his ears gave him away. “Nee-chan does that a lot, and I, I find it endearing. So it’s alright.”

He quickly brought his hands in front of him, waving them frantically.

“I mean, it’s not like I think that you’re Nee-chan or anything. But see, the thing Shino said before—you don’t have to mind it. I like it, anyway. I mean, it’s not that I like it! I mean, I do. You know, in a non-weird way!” He defended.

She blinked at the rapid-fire sentences he had just spouted. She let out a large breath of relief.

“Thank goodness! I thought I was offending you,” she explained, bringing her hands to her heart. He grinned and reassured her that she did him no harm.

“Truth be told, I like being pampered,” he said, his mouth working faster than his mind. Hinata brows rose. Realizing that he voiced his thoughts, he buried his face in his hands. His ears were burning a bright red and he could feel the heat of his face in the palms of his hands.

“I mean,” his voice was quiet and muffled. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Right?”

He felt embarrassed for some reason. They had just been studying minutes prior, but now, the ambience in his room had quicky changed. It felt so intimate that it was almost stifling for him. He could hear his heart beating in his ears, he could feel Hinata sitting so close to him, something he had not completely registered, and he could almost sense that time had slowed down. So much for feeling like Hinata would never judge him. All he wanted to do then and there was crawl under his bed and hide away forever. _Now is not the time nor place to be so sappy, idiot_! He scolded himself, shaking his head.

Just then, he felt a gentle hand rest on his shoulder, making him tense up before slowly relaxing. It was only Hinata.

“Of course there isn’t, Kiba-kun.”

He lifted his head, looking at her, feeling slightly better from her validation. The sky could be falling and if she said it wasn’t, he’d believe her in a heartbeat and without a second’s hesitation. He turned back to the table, leaned forward, and rested his head on his arms as he laid them on the table’s surface, his fingers fiddling with his pencil. The warmth of her hand on his shoulder left him and he almost wanted to lean back again just to have it back on him.

“I like my hair being played with. And massages. I also like scented candles and incense. They calm me. And growing up, Mom always showered me with physical affection.” He shrugged. “It’s my thing. I guess I just felt the need to shut up about it with all the drama about what it means to be masculine. But hey, I’m an Inuzuka, I’m the man of the house, and I like soft affectionate gestures… I think I get too caught up in many things that I forget to remind myself that that’s a thing and that it’s normal.”

Hinata listened to him speak, a warm smile enveloping her features. She ran her fingers through his hair once more. He suppressed the shiver that threatened to run down his spine at the gentle but firm brush of her nails against his scalp. She lightly trailed a finger from his forehead down to his nose. He wrinkled his nose at the ticklish feeling before his sharp eyes met hers again.

“That’s the Kiba-kun I know. Completely unapologetic of who he is.”

He grinned, his happiness embracing her the way his arms would. An all-encompassing warmth radiated from his chest and spread to his fingertips and toes. He liked how she said his name, and how she worded him. He truly was unapologetic and for all the right reasons, in her eyes.

“That’s the Hinata I know. Always picking everyone up from their puddles of misery.”

She laughed.

“Alright, now back to the topic.”

A whine left him from the back of his throat as he buried his face into his arms. Her melodious laugh followed, along with a firm hand tugging to sit back up and continue their study session.

\---

Sakura waved with an iced treat between her teeth as she approached the swing Ino sat on. The blonde had asked to meet at the neighborhood playground that afternoon. From the pocket of her hoodie, she handed Ino the ice cream sandwich that she had bought from the _konbini_ near her house.

“So, what’s up?” she asked, taking a seat on the empty swing beside her friend and gently rocking herself to and fro. Ino unwrapped the frozen treat and bit into it. She was silent for a moment more as she munched on the ice cream sandwich. Sakura continued eating the ice candy she had bought.

“The thing is,” Ino hesitated. She continued gazing in front of her, her face cloudy with thought. She continued eating as Sakura waited patiently. If Ino had mustered the willpower to call her out and talk about something, best believe that she was going to get her point across, no matter how long it took.

She started swinging herself as she waited, the afternoon breeze reminding her of their childhood days under the sun.

“… Sasuke.”

Her green eyes quickly returned to her friend.

“What?” She stopped swinging, the rusty creaking of the swings ceasing.

“You know how Sai reminds a lot of people of Sasuke,” Ino continued. Sakura nodded. She was met with a steadfast gaze of light blue eyes.

“He’s not.” Ino firmly stated. “He’s not Sasuke. I admit that I was quick to judge like everyone else, and just because he resembled Sasuke, I felt drawn to him. But the more I think about it, Sai is nothing like Sasuke.”

Sakura nodded again, slower this time. “I know. It’s sort of plain by now to see that they’re different.”

“No, what I’m trying to say is that I’ve gotten over my childhood crush on Sasuke. But I can’t deny that he’s somewhat my ideal type." Sakura's frown only deepened. She leaned forward, keeping her cold treat away from her as melted droplets of water dripped onto the sand below. She was getting confused and she still could not comprehend what it was that Ino was trying to tell her. If only her friend would not skirt around the issue and simply address it. But perhaps, Ino was already trying her best. She didn't need any more pressure from Sakura, whom she had chosen to confide to.

"That being said, I don’t like him that way anymore. He’s more like the conventionally-attractive to my standards. Yet I,” she ran a hand through her bangs, revealing her perplexed expression more clearly. “I’m still drawn to _him_. To Sai, I mean. I can’t stop thinking about him. I keep wondering what it’s like to get to know him. I wonder what goes through his mind when he thinks of me. I want to see the expression on his face when he’s doing what he loves. I want to understand the vacancy behind his smiles. I want to hear him open up. I want to get to know him and comfort him.”

She paused and looked down.

“It’s stupid, I know. Shikamaru’s right, it’ll probably pass. But I can’t help but wonder what if it won’t? What if after a week, or two, or five, I’d still feel the same, like I'd still want to get to know him better? Well, if it’s silly infatuation, then I can settle for being friends. The point is, I’ve concluded that I like him. I like Sai.”

She waited for Sakura’s laughter but it did not come. She looked up to see her friend surprised.

“What?” She quickly asked. “You’re looking at me funny. What’s with that face?”

Sakura blinked and took a moment to compose her sentences in her head. There were a few things that she didn't quite understand completely, but as a whole, she got Ino's point.

“That’s new.” She finally mumbled. She looked up at the sky, tinged a coral pink from the sun setting behind them. “What do you want to do about it? You liking him, I mean. What’s the plan now that you’ve concluded your feelings?” 

“I don’t know. I mean, we’re not even friends. We’re acquaintances at most. I don’t exactly _know_ him if you get what I mean.”

“Then let’s start with that,” Sakura suggested. “Everyone could use a friend. Start with being friends. There’s no harm in getting two people to know each other and see if they bond for friendship, right?”

“In this context,” Ino interjected. “I think I’d still have an ulterior motive. In this case, I _would_ be befriending him to make him… like me, for lack of a better phrase.”

Sakura sighed, slumping in her seat. She absentmindedly inspected her ice candy, the treat already melted and not as cool as she would like inside the plastic mold.

“Look, it’s the summer alright? You’ve got so many days ahead. If you feel uncomfortable about it, just think of it as befriending someone you think is cute. You said so yourself, you don’t even know what you want to do even though you like him. Knowing you, Yamanaka Ino, the woman who always has a plan, it’s already saying something that you did not come up with anything after confronting your feelings. There is no ulterior motive here. You want to be his friend for the sake of simply _knowing_ him.”

Ino stayed silent as she thought about what Sakura said.

“I guess so,” she mumbled. Sakura smiled and placed a hand on Ino’s shoulder. Ino tensed at the contact.

“I’ve got you. Besides, Sai’s my friend too. If I even get an inkling that you’re trying to mess with him, or him with you, it’s not going to be pretty. I’m glad that you’ve confronted your feelings. I’m here to support you. This time around, _you have me_.” The implications behind her words hung heavy on both of them. The childish feud over Sasuke had torn their friendship apart, but they were past that. They were more than just girls daydreaming about their prince charming. They were women who were their own knights in shining armor. And they had each other’s back.

\---

Sai lifted his head from his desk, his pen stopping and the ink pooling at the tip. He turned his head to the side just as a sneeze escaped him. He turned to the air conditioning unit of his room. It wasn’t turned on. The window was open but the breeze was not cold. Even the standing electric fan he had was not turned on.

Another sneeze. He was getting unusual chills, making the boy wonder if he caught a cold.

He turned back to the sketch he had been doing. 

Another sneeze.

\---

“We should go to an amusement park or something,” Sakura said as they walked home. “I heard there are new attractions this summer.”

Ino hummed as she walked in stride with the girl.

“I doubt I can get Shikamaru to go. His stubbornness reaches its peak in summer. And seeing the trouble he went through just so he could have a five-day escape, or whatever he called it, I don’t think he won’t put up a fight even if I pester him to go.” She replied, frowning at her best friend’s reclusive behavior.

Sakura gave her a playful grin.

“Who needs Shikamaru? I could ask Naruto and Sai.” She waggled her brows at Ino.

“I knew you’d start teasing me like this!” She complained and gave her a friendly shove.

“Alright, I’ll stop. But really, I could ask Naruto, and I’m sure he’d take the initiative to ask Sai to come. If he was into guys, I’d think the both of you have the same taste. Exhibit A, Sasuke-kun and Sai. And you’re both blonde with blue eyes, too. Hey, do you think you guys were twins or something in your past lives?” She wondered aloud.

“Sakura!” Ino’s frustrated yell made her laugh.

\---

Shikamaru quickly sneezed into the nook of his elbow. Beside him, Shino muttered a quiet, “Bless you.”

He covered his nose as he felt another sneeze come. Was the dormitory they stayed at too cold for his liking? He seemed to be coming down with a cold.

\---

**Back in the Inuzuka Residence**

“Let’s take a break for a bit,” Kiba groaned. Hinata looked up from the textbook she was reading. She tapped the screen of her phone to check the time before she nodded. Placing a random piece of paper in between the pages, she shut the book.

She placed her clasped hands on top of it as she leaned forward and towards him. She had shifted her seat towards the adjacent side of the table now, to his left, rather than directly beside him.

“Alright, what now?”

Kiba brows furrowed.

“Well, I was thinking to relax or something,” he mumbled. She nodded and pressed her lips together as her eyes wandered around the room. Hinata’s perfectly manicured nails drummed over the hardbound cover of the textbook that rested on her knees. She continued looking around despite already being familiar with the room and everything in it. Her fingers tapped in an erratic and unstable rhythm. Kiba stretched before he sunk to the floor to lay on his side, his head resting close to her hip. He had grabbed a cushion and tucked it under his head as he made himself comfortable.

“ _Yamete_ ,” he whined at the constant beating of her nails against the book. Surprised, she held her fingers up and away, apologizing immediately.

“It’s not that I’m bothered,” he dismissed, lying on his back and propping his knees up as his sharp eyes met hers. “You just don’t seem to be relaxing right now.”

“I _am_ relaxing,” she said, blinking cluelessly at him. He shook his head.

“Yeah but I can tell that you’re already going through the process of what the rest of this study session will be after the break, in your head. Am I wrong?”

Her cheeks flushed as he hit his mark. She refused to meet his eyes, tugging on the sleeves of the sweater she wore.

It was an unconscious habit of hers that he picked up on over the years. Whenever she was nervous, she had the urge to tug at something. When she was upset, she would press her lips tightly together, her mind racing with thoughts but her body refusing to let any outburst happen. When she felt cold, her ears and the tip of her nose would be the first one to turn a reddish hue.

“I’m just trying to be productive,” she told him. He folded his arms behind his head as he closed his eyes.

“But you don’t have to be. I mean, it’s a break, you know. You can rest for the time being,” he replied. She shrugged. He opened his eyes and looked at her once more.

“Come on, you try laying back and chilling,” he pressed. She looked unsure. He laughed and sat up.

“It’s easy, Hime.”

“I understand that, but it doesn’t seem proper.”

He rolled her eyes. “There you go again. Come on, how long have we known each other? Loosen up around me.”

He flashed her a reassuring grin. He motioned for her to scoot over, back to his side where she had previously been seated as he grabbed his phone from the bed. His earbuds were plugged in and they were a tangled mess. He quickly pulled them free and handed the right earbud to Hinata. Curious, she took it and placed it in her ear.

He started playing a soft playlist before he reclined and rested his back on his bed behind them. She followed suit, placing her hands neatly on her lap and closing her eyes to enjoy the music.

Kiba started humming to the song that was playing and rocking left and right, nudging his companion to join him in the motion. She chuckled and moved side to side with him, playing along.

As they continued to unwind, he reached behind her, his arm extending over her shoulder and his face right by her ear. She could feel his chest press against her arm as he groaned and struggled to reach one of his pillows. He finally grabbed it by the end and pulled it over to them so that they could rest their heads on it. As he returned to his previous position, her pale eyes caught sight of the redness creeping up his neck.

They continued to enjoy each other’s company and the good music they shared.

“Kiba-kun,” the girl murmured.

“Mm?” He could not be bothered to open his eyes as he addressed her. Her eyes were also closed, although she could not recall doing so.

“I’m getting sleepy,” her soft voice was laced with drowsiness. He made a small noise of agreement.

“S’alright. I’ll wake you up or something.” He shifted his head on the pillow to find a more comfortable position. He felt her move beside him.

“What about,” a muffled yawn interrupted her. “Studying?”

He turned up the volume of the music.

“We’ll continue later,” he told her, his voice as low as a whisper.

She did not reply. He continued to shift before his head found a good spot on the pillow to rest on. He felt the world behind his closed lids grow darker, sleep embracing him. He felt the gentle pressure of Hinata’s head slowly falling on his shoulder, her weight leaning on him as she too fell asleep.

\---

Neji frowned as he looked at his phone for the fifth time in the last minute. It had been several hours since Hinata had left. She told him that she would be back before dinner. It was already six in the evening and it was getting darker as the sun had set.

His teeth worried at his lower lip. His fingers quickly tapped over the screen of his phone as he sent her another text message, inquiring where she was and if she was on her way home.

\---

“Hey, are you guys,” Hana’s voice boomed as she threw the bedroom door open. The duo startled awake and their eyes snapped open, Hinata freezing in shock, while Kiba jolted.

His older sister was at the open doorway, awkwardly looking at them.

“What are you doing?” She asked slowly, her face doubtful.

“Eh?” Hinata quickly lifted her head from her friend’s shoulder. She could feel herself start to sweat as she felt the room turn increasingly warm.

“We were sleeping!” Kiba exclaimed, throwing the cushion he sat on at his sister. She caught it smoothly as she raised a brow.

“Huh,” was all she said. She seemed to stare at them for another solid minute, making Hinata fidget and making Kiba mouth at his sister to hurry out. Hana only shrugged, any traces of suspicious vanishing from her features.

“I’m getting dinner ready. Stay for a while more, Hinata-chan. I’ll have Kiba walk you home later.”

She waggled her brows suggestively at the said boy as she hugged the cushion to her, pulling the door closed in exaggeratedly slow motion.

“Of course I’ll walk her home!” He retorted, his voice cracking at the last syllable. He quickly brought his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat.

“Sorry about that, Nee-chan can be weird,” he mumbled, not turning to her. He scooted away before standing, his back turned to her.

“Do you need to freshen up or something?”

Realizing how disheveled she must have looked from having just woken up, she quickly retreated to the bathroom out in the hall.

As he ran a hand through his brown hair, Kiba picked up his pillow to return it to the end of the bed. He paused as he held it in his arms. He slowly sat down on his bed and brought it close to his face. The mild scent of her shampoo floated to him, making his heart skip a beat. His arms instinctively wrapped around the middle of the pillow, hugging it to his chest.

He could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears and completely missed the sound of the slow creaking of his bedroom door as it opened. Hana poked her head in once more. A mocking expression painted her face as she tried her best to hold in her laughter.

“What are you doing, _aisuru otouto_?”

He choked on air as he threw the pillow to the wall.

“ _Nee-chan! Get out_!”

His face burned as warmly as the red that painted his cheeks. He buried his face in his hands, groaning in embarrassment. His heart was pounding even louder in his chest and he could hear its booming rhythm in his ears. He sighed and pulled his hands away.

He knelt on the floor to tidy up the table. He grabbed his phone and earbuds and threw them on the bed. He had woken from their shared nap earlier, even before his sister had barged in. He was so bleary and still half-asleep that all he managed to do was pull the earbuds from his ear and Hinata’s and place his phone on the table. He had then scooted closer so that she leant on him more comfortably before soon falling back into a dreamless rest after.

He caught his reflection in the window, the dark nightscape coating the glass in shadow.

He messed up his locks.

“Get it together, _chikushou_.” He slapped his cheeks quickly as if to refresh himself and stood.

\---

After a mildly awkward dinner with Hana's offhand comments, Kiba and Hinata quietly made their way down the street in the direction of her house.

“It’s been a while since I ate at your place,” she said to fill the silence of their walk. He scratched his head.

“I think the last time was back in junior high, huh?” She nodded to answer him.

“I’m sorry about earlier again,” he said sheepishly, rubbing his neck. “I said I’d wake you up but I ended up sleeping too. And Nee-chan caught us at an awkward time and she got weird about it. I hope it didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything. Ah! But if you did, we could just study in the living room tomorrow if you want, or something. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” He would have continued rambling had she not laughed.

“It’s alright. I guess a break once in a while is good too. I feel well-rested enough to be productive tonight. And Hana-nee-chan’s cooking also gave me a boost.” She beamed at him.

He put a hand to his heart. “ _Yokatta_.”

“You were a surprisingly comfortable sleeping buddy,” she commented, glancing at him.

“Don’t tease me!” he whined, crossing his arms over himself.

She stopped. He followed her abrupt halt and turned to her.

“What’s wrong?” His hands fell to his sides as worry filled his face.

“I was wondering,” her voice was quiet. He felt his heart jump to his throat.

“What is it?”

She stepped toward him, her eyes cast down at her feet. He grew more uneasy with each passing second that she did not speak. She met eyes with him as she brought her forefinger to pock his side.

“Are you secretly a teddy bear?”

He gave her a baffled look making the girl cover her mouth as she burst into a fit of giggles. He immediately covered his midsection with his arms.

“Hinata!” He growled, embarrassed at her playful action. Moreover, his heartbeat soared and he felt weird at how uncharacteristically affectionate she had been. She continued laughing behind her hand, tears springing up to her eyes. He knew she could be mischievous, but not like this. It almost felt wrong that he, for a second, thought she was flirting with him.

“I’m sorry, but you’re quite comfortable to lean on, Kiba-kun,” she said.

He puffed his cheeks out to pout. “Stop teasing.”

“Alright, I’ll stop.”

“Good.”

“But are you?”

“Hey, you said you’d stop. Cut it out.”

“Alright.”

\---

“ _Konbanwa,_ ”

“You’re late.” Neji cut off Kiba’s greeting as he opened the gate. The dark-haired boy tensed at the intimidating aura surrounding the older male.

“Funny story,” he chuckled. Neji opened the gate wider, allowing Hinata to pass through. Before she could wave goodbye, Neji blocked her away, already closing the gate.

“I’ll hear it some other time. Be careful on your way home them. Next time you intend to keep guests longer than they should, I advise you to inform those waiting upon their return.”

Kiba blinked at the large gate as it shut in his face. 

“ _Kibishi_.”


	13. Chapter 13

Ino brushed her hair as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her lip kept trembling. She did not know what sort of face she should be making. Her stomach was fluttering with butterflies and her skin was flushed with giddiness. She glanced at her wristwatch. It had only been two minutes since she last checked the time. Sakura wouldn’t be over for another ten minutes. She finally set down her hairbrush and let out a long sigh, trying to calm herself. Her blue eyes were shaking and she hated how nervous she was.

“Calm down,” she told herself.

She slumped onto the table, exhausted. She groaned and kicked her feet against the floor. If only someone was there to calm her down. She would never let herself be unsteady in the presence of another person. Usually, she had Shikamaru with her and his constant cynicism always kept her busy enough to not think about her nerves.

Now, he was still tied up in his science convention.

She could only hope that he stuck to the outfit choices she prepared for him. She made sure to pack everything in order as well as easy-enough for him to grab, knowing he wouldn’t think twice before throwing on his clothes, not minding if they matched or not. She looked at her wristwatch once more.

She stood from her vanity table and pushed her hair off her shoulder. She made her way over to her closet and looked at the wide array of clothes on the hangers.

She pulled out a grey denim dress and held it against her frame. She titled her head as she imagined herself wearing it. She threw the dress onto her bed as she went through her clothes once more and pulled out a forest green shirt that she imagined wearing with denim shorts. Her eyes squinted at her reflection. She flung the shirt onto her bed and put her hands on her hips. She tilted her head in the opposite direction and looked at herself in the full-length mirror on her closet door.

Her cream bathrobe came off a moment later as she pulled a purple sleeveless cropped top over her head and a matching skirt.

She smiled and let out a satisfied hum before she put back the dress and shirt she had previously pondered over. She brought her hair up into its signature ponytail and applied a sheer layer of lip gloss on her lips.

She made her way down to the living room just as the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” She yelled, stopping her father in his tracks as he was about to make his way to the door. She struggled to strap her sandals on and hopped on one foot as she tried and failed to fasten it at the ankle strap.

Once she had her shoes on, she grabbed her father by the arm before he got to leave the front door and gave him a quick hug and a chaste kiss on his cheek.

“I probably won’t be home for dinner, but I’ll be back before curfew! See you later!”

She ignored her father’s call asking if she had already informed her mother about her plans and quickly jogged toward the gate of the house. She unlocked it as a bright smile erupted on her features.

“I’m here,” she announced.

Sai looked up from his phone and gave a curt nod of his head.

“Sakura told me to pick you up. She said she’s still getting ready.”

Ino sucked in a sharp breath in surprise. “You… How did you get here?”

She blinked several times before quickly rephrasing her sentence. “What I mean to say is, how did you _know_ how to get here?”

He turned his phone screen to face her, showing her a multitude of texts from Naruto, detailing the route from Sakura’s house to hers.

“That’s unnecessarily meticulous,” she mumbled. She hummed and met Sai’s dark eyes.

“Let’s go, then?”

“ _Hai_ ,” he replied.

The both of them walked in step to Sakura’s house, a heavy silence enveloping them. Ino glanced at her companion. He wore a navy blue jacket over a plain black shirt and relaxed black jeans that he cuffed at the hem, showing his pale ankles. His plain black shoes completed the outfit. He held his phone in one hand, the other tucked into the pocket of his jacket.

He turned to look at her upon realizing her attention.

“Is something the matter?” He inquired, slowing the pace of his walking to accommodate a comfortable conversation. She quickly averted her eyes, missing the way he tilted his head in confusion.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. She pressed her lips together, conscious of how he surveyed her face.

“You look wonderful if that is what you wished to know,” he commented, catching her off-guard and making her trip over her own feet. He didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but he figured Ino was the type of girl who took pride in her visual appeal. It wouldn’t hurt to hurl out a couple of compliments here and there, whether he meant them or not, he thought.

“I didn’t!” She cried out, embarrassed. She clicked her tongue and looked away from him as they walked, quickening her steps. He caught up to her with ease, slipping both hands into the pockets of his jacket and peering at her face as she tried to shy away from him.

“You still seem troubled,” he remarked. She shook her head, feeling uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. “Don’t mind me.”

He hummed before returning his eyes to look in front of him.

“As you wish,” he said, completely aloof.

She could not help scrunching her face in conflicted discomfort and astonishment as she held back a squeal. For all his reticence, he could be innocently charming. She found it adorable how genuinely childlike he seemed, albeit in a standoffish and withdrawn manner. He seemed to be the male version of Hinata, but more haughty and unresponsive than the said girl could ever be.

At the thought of her friend, Ino wondered about dating Hinata had she been born a man. It didn’t seem half-bad. Hinata seemed to be the type to unconsciously pamper her partner and Ino loved being pampered. Her mind drifted to Sakura and she tried to imagine her dating the Haruno. Her best friend’s fiery personality clashed with hers but it made her think that it would still be a lovely duo nonetheless.

Seeing the similarities, she thought of Sakura dating either Naruto or Sasuke. Hinata seemed to be the male version of Sasuke if she had Shino’s personality. They were both conventionally beautiful but she felt that Shino’s personality would be a closer match to Sasuke’s. Conversely, she felt that Naruto fit her personality like a glove. She remembered Sakura’s remark about Ino and Naruto possibly being twins in a past life. Come to think of it, they _were_ both blond and they had blue eyes. Was that Sakura’s type?

Shaking the odd thoughts away, she returned her thoughts to Sai. The silence around them was uncomfortably awkward. The conversation back at the park with Sakura made her skin warm and flushed. Sure, she meant what she had said, but it didn’t make the memory any less cringe-inducing. Just as they approached a convenience store on their way, signaling that Sakura’s house was only two blocks away, she caught sight of a large poster advertising the delectable visuals of an ice cream sandwich. She gasped and momentarily skipped a step on the road, making her trip once more, much to her bewilderment and horror. Instinctively, she grabbed the closest thing to her to stop her fall—the closest thing being Sai’s arm.

He managed to react in time to catch her but not before she had yanked the sleeve of his jacket almost entirely off him.

She quickly blurted out an apology but stopped as she noticed the markings he had on his now exposed arm. As she stood back on her feet, stable, she watched him pull the navy blue clothing back into place, covering him up.

“You have a tattoo?” She asked, not being able to keep her curiosity in. He paused.

“It’s not real.”

“Eh?” She looked confused and wordlessly asked him to explain.

He pulled his sleeve up to show her the dark ink that coated his arm in a delicately drawn pattern.

“I tried painting on myself this morning,” he mumbled. She had to pinch herself to keep her from bursting into laughter.

“I, I see,” she managed to say. Her lower lip trembled with the amount of restraint she put in not chortling in his face. It was such an unexpected revelation to her that he would even think about doing something like that.

“Does it wash off?” She asked inspecting his arm closely. She brought her finger to trace over his pale limb lightly and watched as gooseflesh erupted over his skin.

“The paint said it was water-based,” he replied before rolling his sleeve back down. She hummed and nodded, feeling lighter as the air of unfamiliarity between both of them dissipated somewhat. She pointed towards the convenience store.

“Do you mind if I grab something in there?”

“Not at all,” he said, following her inside. She made her way to the freezers at the back and pulled out two ice cream sandwiches. She showed it to him.

“My treat.” He accepted the packaged goodie with a short mumble of thanks.

As she paid for the sandwiches, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He bit the wrapper of the ice cream sandwich, keeping a hold of it with his teeth, as he brought his phone out.

**(Ugly) Sakura:** _Where are you?_

He quickly texted back to say that he had successfully picked up Ino and that they were on their way. He chucked his phone back into his pocket and unwrapped the treat, throwing the wrapper into the bin as they made their way outside. He bit into the sandwich and winced slightly, the coldness hitting his teeth and surprising him.

“Ah, it’s so good!” Ino gushed as she ate hers. He took a quick look at her. Her eyes were closed as she relished in the cold treat, her cheeks flushed with joy and her lips glossy with the product she had applied on them. She looked even more attractive when she smiled, unlike the scowl she had graced him with earlier in their encounter.

From the first characteristic that came to him when he saw her, ‘ugly,’ he developed the said trait into ‘attractive’. He came to understand that she was what most of the male population considered gorgeous and what most of the female population looked up to and aspired to be like in terms of her appearance. Her smile made her seem all the more approachable and radiant. She seemed to glow in a delightful aura that he had seen only in television personalities or celebrities.

He wondered if she had tried modeling.

\---

“It took you two long enough,” Sakura chided as she met with the duo in front of her house. Naruto pushed himself off the wall where he rested and merrily greeted Ino and Sai.

“What can I say?” Ino remarked as she flaunted her platinum blonde hair. “Beauty takes time.”

Sakura waited for Sai’s honest remark but it never came. He simply stared at the way Ino brandished her splendor.

“Right,” Sakura slowly replied, eyeing Sai with suspicion. He gave her a clueless look in return once he noticed her expression.

“Hey come on guys, Sasuke said he’s going to get on the next train if we don’t show up at the station in five!” Naruto hurriedly yelled, rushing them to start walking. His nose was buried in his phone, hurriedly sending a text back to his friend and already way ahead of them.

“ _Hah_? There’s no way we’ll make it in five minutes! Can’t you tell him to wait?” Sakura asked, running ahead and grabbing his phone to look at the exchange of text messages.

“Hold on, you’re going to make me run in this?” Ino asked, flabbergasted. Although she always came prepared, she was not looking forward to having to touch up and fix herself after getting clammy and worn out if they ran to the station.

“I didn’t tell you to wear that. Come on! He’s going to leave without us!” With that, the group of friends sprinted toward the station where Uchiha Sasuke was not waiting for them. In truth, he was still making his way to the station as they ran, waiting for his older brother to drive him there.

\---

Shikamaru scrolled through their Ino-Shika-Chou group chat. It was filled with Ino’s ramblings in the day and Choji’s comments. He noticed a lapse of a couple of hours in Ino’s messages.

Usually, she was updating them with every little thing happening to her, no matter how trivial, even if they didn’t ask. For the past three days since he left for the convention, he noticed long lapses of Ino’s missing texts.

It was already three in the morning, far too late for him to still be awake and far too early for anyone else to be awake with him.

He typed a short, “Can’t sleep,” but quickly deleted the message before he could send it. Just then, his brows lifted as he suddenly saw Ino’s profile picture pop up to show that she was typing a message.

**Ino:** _Shika-baka, why are you up? Don’t you have to get up really early for that convention?_

_I could ask you the same thing._ He replied.

She started typing but a couple of seconds later, she stopped. Then, a notification popped up on his phone, alerting him that he had a direct message coming from his friend.

**Ino:** _I can’t sleep_.

_Close your eyes and count sheep_ , he dryly replied. She sent a sticker of an angry character.

**Ino:** _Fine. You’ve been no help. Start counting sheep too. You need to sleep. I know your beauty’s too far gone to be salvaged, but at least show up without looking like heaven’s fallen on earth_.

He rolled his eyes at her exaggeration. He couldn’t argue though. He already looked weary as it is, but coupled with a sleepless night and an early start to his morning, he could look worse. It was tested and proven, having scared Naruto half-to-death in their middle school years.

**Ino:** _Still up?_

_What?_ He asked.

**Ino:** _Sing me a lullaby._

_You’re pushing your luck_.

**Ino:** _I know you can do it. Come on, let out that hidden gem of a voice, Shikamaru._

_Go to sleep._

**Ino:** _I’ll fall right asleep if you send me a lullaby. Just whisper it out. Come on. Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with delectable cherries on top?_

_No._

**Ino:** _You know I’m not going to stop right?_

_Go to sleep._ He sent a GIF of sheep jumping over a fence.

She sent a voice message to him.

Not bothering to grab his earbuds, he pressed play on the message, making sure the volume of his phone was not too loud. He was with three other boys in the dorm room. He did not want to wake them up.

“ _Lullaby and goodnight, now the daytime is over_ ,” he heard Ino sing. It wasn’t half bad. He could fall asleep to the sound of it.

“ _Time to slip up to your dreamland, I will keep you safe and warm. Lullaby and goodnight, there is nothing to fear. Lullaby and goodnight, when you_ WAKE I’LL BE NEAR!” She shrieked the last part of the song, making him jump and drop his phone, the unexpected blaring of her off-pitch scream scaring him. He quickly retrieved his phone that clattered to the floor, glad that he had not been on the top bunk of the bunk bed he lay on, and even more grateful that none of his companions woke up.

_You’re going to be the death of me_ , he quickly sent the message to her, bringing an arm over his eyes and breathing deeply to calm his heart. It was still beating hard from the fright she gave him.

**Ino:** _You’re welcome, Shikamaru. Goodnight._

With that, the green dot next to the round picture of her disappeared and he slid his phone toward the foot of his bed. He turned to his side and closed his eyes. Instead of sheep jumping over a fence, he could only see an enraged blonde cartwheeling over him.


End file.
